JUSTICE

Contracts

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration his Department has given in its invitation to tender for  (a) prison law and  (b) family law services in 2010 to ensuring that the technical and professional ability specifications are (i) reasonable and proportionate and (ii) compliant with the provisions of clause 15 (12) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006.

Jonathan Djanogly: In respect of the tender for family services, prior to the tender process the service specifications were the subject of a formal consultation that opened on 31 October 2008 and closed on 23 January 2009. They were then adjusted in light of comments received.
	The prison law requirements were similarly the subject of a formal public consultation that ran from 10 February 2009 to 5 May 2009. The 2010 Standard Crime Contract Specification, which includes the prison law provisions, was then subject to a formal technical consultation with the Law Society in September 2009.
	Across all tenders for 2010 contracts, including prison law and family law, applicants have been required to complete a pre-qualification questionnaire. This included sections on technical experience, business conduct and financial conduct. Tenders that failed to satisfy the Legal Service Commission's pre-qualification requirements were assessed as unsuccessful.

Contracts

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment of capacity to carry out work his Department makes in determining the allocation of matter starts to companies tendering under the Legal Services Commission contract which commences on 14 October 2010.

Jonathan Djanogly: As part of the tender process for 2010 contracts the Legal Services Commission (LSC) (who, as the body that administers the legal aid budget, managed the tender process) applied a 'capacity test' across civil areas of work. The threshold of capacity was specific to each category of law and limited the number of matter starts per full time equivalent staff member (FTE) delivering the service.
	Further to this upfront safeguard, the LSC is also undertaking a verification exercise whereby they are seeking confirmation from successful applicants that they are in a position to deliver the work they have been allocated for the start date of the new contract.

Contracts

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many appeals against the tender decisions made in respect of Legal Services Commission (LSC) contracts due to commence on 14 October 2010 in  (a) North East Wales,  (b) Wales and  (c) England the LSC is considering.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has received 1,050 appeals nationally as of 9 September 2010. The LSC does not hold the information requested broken down by geographical areas. The tender process is ongoing. Not all tender notifications have been made and in some cases the appeals period against the tender process is still open.

County Courts

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what consultation he plans to undertake with  (a) magistrates,  (b) district judges and  (c) others on the implementation of his proposals to abolish county courts boards;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the total level of savings that will arise from the abolition of courts boards.

Jonathan Djanogly: None. The decision to abolish Courts Boards was taken by the previous Government and announced as part of the March 2010 Budget Statement. The coalition Government have decided to proceed with the abolition.
	The Department expects to save approximately £450,000 per year from the abolition of the Courts Boards. This amount includes remuneration to members, travel and subsistence payments, recruitment costs and other ad hoc and administration expenses.

Courts: Operating Costs

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total running costs were of the Surrey and Sussex Courts Board in each of the last four years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The remuneration, travel and subsistence costs for the Surrey and Sussex Courts Board for the last four years are as follows.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 12,632 
			 2007-08 12,363 
			 2008-09 9,856 
			 2009-10 9,500 
		
	
	The above do not include additional costs for recruitment, HMCS staffing, and administration/ad hoc expenditure. These costs could either not be quantified or could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Custodial Treatment: North Wales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) men and  (b) women received immediate custodial sentences from courts in North Wales in the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The number of males and females sentenced to immediate custodial sentences by courts in North Wales, 2004 to 2008 are shown in the table.
	Data for 2009 are planned for publication on 21 October 2010.
	
		
			  Number of males and females sentenced to immediate custodial sentence in North Wales, 2004-08( 1)( , )( 2) 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Male 1083 1097 1039 1001 1132 
			 Female 85 94 61 76 84 
			 Total 1,168 1,191 1,100 1,077 1,216 
			 (1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Court Categorisation Crown Courts: area categorisation based on the prosecuting police force area (which is not necessarily the area of the sentencing court). If another agency has brought the prosecution, area categorisation is based on the criminal justice area of the sentencing court.  Magistrates Courts: As part of the rollout of the Libra case management system in magistrates courts during 2008. a change was made to the categorisation by area. Sentences given at courts using the Libra system are categorised according to the criminal justice area of the court while others are categorised in the same way as the Crown Court. By the end of 2008, all magistrates courts were using Libra. Police forces do not prosecute minor offences (those that are sentenced at magistrates courts) outside their areas. Only around 0.01% of sentences at magistrates courts were affected in 2007 and 2008.  Source:  Justice Statistics - Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Departmental Official Hospitality

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in his Department in July 2010.

Crispin Blunt: In July 2010 the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr Kenneth Clarke) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Djanogly) hosted events. The costs are as follows:
	
		
			  Date  Event  Cost (£) 
			  Kenneth Clarke QC   
			 5 July 2010 Lunch with the Russian Justice Minister 117.75 
			 14 July 2010 Interview and lunch with newspaper journalist 12.80 
			 27 July 2010 Justice Committee drinks 26.55 
			 Total  157.10 
			
			  Jonathan Djanogly   
			 7 July 2010 Legal Aid stakeholder meeting (small providers) 38.20 
			 12 July 2010 Legal Aid stakeholder meeting (large providers) 59.00 
			 13 July 2010 Legal Aid stakeholder meeting (representative bodies) 47.00 
			 Total  144.20

Fixed Penalties: Shoplifting

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to introduce a fixed penalty system for offences related to shoplifting in order to reduce expenditure on prosecutions.

Kenneth Clarke: Since 2004 penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) have been available to the police to deal quickly and effectively with low-level, antisocial and nuisance offending, including minor instances of shoplifting. The scheme allows the police to spend more time on frontline duties and provides an alternative to prosecution in appropriate cases.
	In July 2009 revised operational guidance was issued to police forces to restrict the issue of PNDs for retail theft to first-time offenders who are not substance mis-users and to cases where the value of goods stolen does not exceed £100.
	The scheme is not designed to tackle more serious offending, which should be prosecuted at court.
	The Government are undertaking a full assessment of sentencing policy to ensure that it is effective in deterring crime, protecting the public, punishing offenders and cutting reoffending. We will be considering our approach to all out-of-court disposals as part of this work.

Legal Aid: Families

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many legal practices in  (a) Houghton and Sunderland South constituency and  (b) Sunderland were awarded contracts to provide family legal aid services in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The number of legal practices under contract to the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to provide family legal aid in  (a) Houghton and Sunderland South constituency is three and  (b) Sunderland Central is eight, in the contracted period between April 2010 and October 2010. The LSC is currently in the process of completing the tender for new contracts due to start in November 2010.

Magistrates Courts: Fines

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total amount is of fines issued in magistrates courts in the last three years which remain unpaid.

Jonathan Djanogly: HMCS systems do not currently identify how many or how much of the value of fines imposed just in magistrates courts within a certain period remain outstanding, this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost as it would require a manual search of all fine accounts.
	However HMCS systems can identify the total amount imposed within the last three years and the total value outstanding. The total value outstanding can relate to fines imposed in any previous period and includes financial penalties imposed a number of years ago during the period when fines could not be cancelled (2004-06) and financial penalties which are being paid by instalments. The total amount imposed and balance outstanding includes fines imposed in the magistrates and Crown courts, compensation, costs, victims surcharge and the value of unpaid fixed penalty notices that are transferred to HMCS for enforcement as a fine. The outstanding balance has risen through the application of a strict policy that only allows fines to be written off in certain circumstances.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Total amount imposed  Total amount outstanding 
			 2007-08 376,569,882 500,630,569 
			 2008-09 393,121,639 544,890,624 
			 2009-10 406,670,167 588,475,304

Prison Service: Manpower

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the ratio of prisoners to prison officers is across the Prison Service.

Crispin Blunt: The ratio of prisoners to prisoner officers in all public sector prisons in England and Wales as at 31 March 2010 is one officer to 3.03 prisoners (1:3.03).
	The ratio of prison to prisoner officers in all private prisons in England and Wales as at 31 March 2010 is one officer to 3.78 prisoners (1:3.78)
	Prison officers includes all officer grades within the public sector and private prisons. Data provided is on headcount basis (part timers count as one).

Prison Service: Training

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the  (a) Prison Service and  (b) Probation Service have spent on places on the course Delivering Effective Penal Policy: Taking a Radical New Approach to Short-Term Sentences, organised by CPPS seminars.

Crispin Blunt: I can confirm that Prison Service spend for the financial year 2010-11 for the cost of staff attending the course 'Delivering Effective Penal Policy: Taking a Radical New Approach to Short-Term Sentences', organised by CPPS seminars, is £ 293.75 including VAT.
	The Probation Service data are not routinely collected.

Prisoners: Literacy

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners learnt to read while serving their sentences in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: Neither the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) nor the Skills Funding Agency routinely collect this information. However, we are able to provide information on the number of Level 1 literacy qualifications achieved.
	Gaining a Level 1 literacy qualification demonstrates that a learner has attained the 'functional' level of literacy which people need to get by in life and at work.
	The Skills Funding Agency are able to provide information on the number of Entry level and Level 1 literacy qualifications achieved by adult prisoners in public sector prisons in England as recorded on Individualised Learner Records. The following table shows the Entry Level and Level 1 achievement data for the last three academic years.
	
		
			  Academic year  Entry level and Level 1 Literacy aims achieved( 1) 
			 2006/07 (August 2006 to July 2007) 5,089 
			 2007/08 (August 2007 to July 2008) 10,503 
			 2008/09 (August 2008 to July 2009) 10,055 
			 (1) Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) funded delivery in custody for aged 18 and over.  Notes: 1. A learning aim is a generic term which includes qualifications, courses and learning events under a general title. A learning aim is, in the wider FE system, a single element of learning that attracts funding. 2. The Skills Funding Agency have responsibility for planning and funding learning and skills delivery for learners in public sector prisons and young offenders' institutions in England through the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS). It excludes private prisons, prisons in Wales and Immigration Removal Centres. 3. The data collected records the number of learning aims enrolled in a year rather than individual learners. As learners may enrol on more than one literacy or numeracy course in any year, and may achieve at one level and progress to the next level, the number of enrolments and achievements does not represent individual learners. 4. The data includes prisoners who have not been sentenced, who are remanded in custody pending trial or sentencing. 
		
	
	The Toe by Toe scheme operated by the Shannon Trust in prisons makes an important contribution to the development of prisoners' reading. Through peer-mentors, they support and encourage emergent readers, enabling them to progress into activity where their literacy skills can be accredited.

Prisons: Visits

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many closed visits there have been in each prison in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: In 2008-09, the last year for which data are available, 1,543 visitors to prisons were made subject to a period of closed visits following a visiting ban, 374 visitors were made subject to a period of closed visits instead of a visiting ban, and 1,871 prisoners were made subject to a period of closed visits.
	In 2007-08, 1,638 visitors to prisons were made subject to a period of closed visits following a visiting ban, 414 visitors were made subject to a period of closed visits instead of a visiting ban, and 1,939 prisoners were made subject to a period of closed visits.
	In 2006-07, 1,684 visitors to prisons were made subject to a period of closed visits following a visiting ban, 494 visitors were made subject to a period of closed visits instead of a visiting ban, and 1,813 prisoners were made subject to a period of closed visits.
	Data are collated regionally and monthly; to provide data for each prison would require a manual trawl through three years' of data, which would incur disproportionate cost.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.

Rape

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for the funding of  (a) rape crisis centres and  (b) sexual assault referral centres in 2011-12.

Crispin Blunt: Decisions on funding for 2011-12 will be made following the Comprehensive Spending Review.

TV: Licensing

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people received a custodial sentence on conviction for non-payment of a TV licence in the last two years.

Crispin Blunt: A person cannot be sentenced to imprisonment if convicted of an offence under section 363 of the Communications Act 2003. The maximum penalty for not having a valid TV Licence is a £1,000 fine. The court may also order the convicted person to pay for TV Licensing's costs in the proceedings. The means by which a person could be sentenced to immediate custody would be if they refused to pay the fine but they would be sentenced to custody for the non-payment of the fine and not for TV licence evasion.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Departmental Pay

Denis MacShane: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 6 September 2010,  Official Report, column 2W, on departmental manpower, how many staff employed by the House of Commons Commission are paid an annual salary of  (a) under £25,000,  (b) between £25,000 and £65,000,  (c) between £65,000 and £100,000,  (d) more than £100,000 and  (e) more than £150,000.

Stuart Bell: As at 30 June 2010, the House of Commons employed 1,639 full-time equivalent staff of whom 80 were temporary. The number of individuals employed was 1,789. Their annual salaries fall into the following ranges:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Under £24,999 889 
			 £25,000 to £64,999 814 
			 £65,000 to £99,999 72 
			 £100,000 to £149,999 13 
			 More than £150,000 1

NORTHERN IRELAND

Big Society

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on implementation of the Government's big society proposals in Northern Ireland.

Hugo Swire: I am a member of the Ministerial Committee on the Big Society and I am meeting next month with the noble Lord, Lord Wei, who advises Government on these matters to discuss how best to engage with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers on the Big Society agenda. These issues are largely devolved in Northern Ireland but we would be happy to share ideas and collaborate where that is appropriate.

US Investment

Mel Stride: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the US Administration on inward investment in Northern Ireland.

Hugo Swire: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State discussed inward investment with the US Consul General in Belfast in July and at his meetings with Declan Kelly, the US economic envoy to Northern Ireland. He will discuss these matters again when he visits the United States later this month in advance of the US Investment Conference in October.

Economic Development

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on economic development in Northern Ireland.

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on economic development in Northern Ireland.

Hugo Swire: I refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Tamworth (Christopher Pincher).

Assembly Constituencies

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the implications for the number of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly of the Government's policy to create fewer and more equal-sized constituencies.

Hugo Swire: We have had a range of discussions on this issue. Since Assembly elections are based on parliamentary constituencies, changes in parliamentary electoral arrangements would have an impact on the Assembly. But the Government have no intention of dictating the size of the Assembly, which is in the first instance a matter for the Assembly itself to consider. Once the issue has been considered the Government will bring forward any necessary legislation.

Economy

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his most recent assessment is of the state of the Northern Ireland economy.

Hugo Swire: Economic issues are largely devolved in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Executive Ministers share the view of my right hon. Friend and I that the private sector in Northern Ireland needs to grow. Almost 30% of Northern Ireland jobs are public sector jobs compared to a UK average of around 20%. Our aim is to seek to rebalance the economy in partnership with the Executive.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in his Department in July 2010.

Owen Paterson: The total amount spent in July was £554.50.

Parades

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on proposals for changes to legislation regulating parades in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: This legislation is a matter for the Executive under the arrangements set out in the Hillsborough Castle Agreement. It is for the Executive to find a solution for all the people in Northern Ireland. I will give my formal consent to the Assembly legislation as soon as I receive such a request from the First and deputy First Ministers. But if a local solution cannot be found I will have no alternative but to continue the Parades Commission.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Billing

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of invoices from suppliers her Department paid within 10 days of receipt in July and August 2010.

Richard Benyon: The proportion of correctly presented invoices from suppliers paid within 10 days of receipt in July and August 2010 was as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   July 2010  August 2010 
			 Core DEFRA 97.25 99.85 
			 Veterinary Medicines Agency 97 98 
			 Veterinary Laboratory Agency 92.1 91.6 
			 Animal Health 99.8 99.76 
			 Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 86.5 89.9 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency 96.9 89.9 
			 Rural Payments Agency 98.65 100

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the monetary value of payments made under the  (a) Entry Level,  (b) Higher Level and  (c) Upper Entry Level Stewardship schemes was in 2009-10.

James Paice: The monetary value in 2009-10 of:
	 (a) Entry Level Stewardship scheme payments was £161,085,554.18;
	 (b) Higher Level Stewardship scheme payments was £69,179,089.99; and
	 (c) the first Uplands Entry Level Stewardship agreements commenced on 1 July 2010, with payments due twice yearly. Therefore, no payments have yet been made.

EU Law

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials in her Department work  (a) full-time and  (b) for most of their time on the negotiation, implementation or administration of EU legislation and consequent policies.

Richard Benyon: A large proportion of DEFRA's business takes place in the context of legislation adopted in the EU following negotiation with other member states, the European Commission and the European Parliament. Consequently a substantial majority of staff in the department (who totalled 8,110 full-time equivalents in 2009-10) will be engaged in EU-derived business. The Department does not hold data analysing how much of each post is EU-related, and it cannot be generated without incurring disproportionate costs.

Tyres

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies take into account rolling resistance as a performance criterion when purchasing tyres.

Richard Benyon: The Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, do not specifically include rolling resistance in all considerations for purchasing tyres, relying on maintenance and fleet management suppliers to provide what is consistent with manufacturers recommendations for the vehicle and suitable for the terrain on which the vehicle will be used.
	Examples of where it is taken into account:
	Environment Agency who has a policy to fit environmental (green) tyres across their fleet. They purchase approximately 85% green Michelin tyres which are low rolling resistance. In addition to this, whilst there may be occasional issues with fitting green tyres on certain vehicles (e.g. 4x4s vehicles) there are now approximately 75% of all 4x4 tyres that are developed with green credentials in mind for rolling resistance.
	Natural England's Pool Car Fleet is managed by a Fleet management supplier whose, tyre replacement policy is to use Michelin Tyres, as this manufacturer produces some of the lowest rolling resistance tyres within its brand.

TREASURY

Bereavement Allowance

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider the merits of treating bereavement allowance as non-taxable income; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: Bereavement allowance is a contributory benefit, and it is appropriate that where a benefit replaces earnings, it is liable to tax.
	However, as with all other taxpayers, a person's tax liability depends upon their total taxable income from all sources and the income tax allowances to which they are entitled. The rates of income tax are set by Parliament, but someone whose only income is the basic bereavement allowance, for instance, will not pay tax because their personal tax allowance would cover this.
	All taxes and benefits are kept under review.

Charities: Private Education

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual tax revenue foregone by the Exchequer as a result of the charitable status of private schools.

David Gauke: No estimate has been made of the annual tax revenue forgone by the Exchequer as a result of the charitable status of private schools because HMRC records do not distinguish amounts repaid to or claimed by charities according to type of charity.

Child Benefit

Mark Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate has been made of the number of malicious counterclaims for child benefit in the latest period for which figures are available;

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) d0 not keep statistical information on how many child benefit claims are perceived to be malicious nor does the Department record how many competing claims resulted in an existing claimant's child benefit being stopped.
	HMRC received around 140,000 claims to child benefit during 2009-10, where another adult was already claiming for the same child or children, and have received around 46,500 such claims in 2010-11 up to and including August 2010. Reliable information is not available for 2008-09 and earlier years.

Child Benefit

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people earning over £37,401 in  (a) England,  (b) Dudley Borough and  (c) Dudley North constituency receive child benefit.

David Gauke: We estimate that around 312,000 adults in England have incomes over £37,401 and also receive child benefit payments in 2009-10.
	The information for Dudley borough and Dudley North is unavailable.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Graham Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on televisions in each year since 1997.

Justine Greening: The available information requested is shown in the following table. HM Treasury does not hold a central record of the purchase of all televisions by individual teams and the figures provided represent centrally purchased televisions only.
	HM Treasury data prior to 2005-06 cannot be provided within the disproportionate costs threshold.
	DMO data prior to 2002-03 are not available due to the introduction of a new accounting system.
	
		
			  £000 
			   HM Treasury  Debt Management  Office (DMO) 
			 2002-03 n/a 0 
			 2003-04 n/a 0 
			 2004-05 n/a 0 
			 2005-06 5 0 
			 2006-07 7 9 
			 2007-08 0 3 
			 2008-09 2 4 
			 2009-10 0 0 
		
	
	No televisions have been purchased by the Asset Protection Agency or the Royal Mint Advisory Committee.

Departmental Fines

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many transport-related fines his Department has settled on behalf of its staff in each year since 2005; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year.

Justine Greening: The Treasury does not hold a central record of transport-related fines.
	A review of payments to the Government Car and Despatch Agency since 2005 revealed the following information:
	
		
			   Tickets  Cost (£) 
			 2004-05 1 47 
			 2005-06 0 0 
			 2006-07 0 0 
			 2007-08 6 423 
			 2008-09 0 0 
			 2009-10 2 120

Departmental Internet

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons it was decided not to moderate the content of contributions to his Department's Spending Challenge website.

Justine Greening: The Spending Challenge website had a strict moderation policy and a dedicated team kept a close eye on content posted in order to remove the minority of ideas that were inappropriate as soon as possible. Content was moderated post-publication as per industry standards.

Departmental Internet

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which  (a) Ministers,  (b) officials and  (c) others represent his Department on the Spending Review Challenge Group.

Danny Alexander: The civil service members of the Independent Challenge Group do not represent their Departments, but act in an independent capacity to bring challenge to the spending review process. There is one member of the Independent Challenge Group (ICG) from the Department for Communities and Local Government: Andrew Campbell, Acting Director General, Local Government and Regeneration, Communities and Local Government. The ICG membership list, including departmental affiliations, was made public on 4 August, and is published in full on the HM Treasury website:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spend_icg_members.htm

Food: Prices

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of food price inflation  (a) was on the latest date for which information is available and  (b) is forecast to be over the next 12 months.

Justine Greening: Within the Consumer Prices Index, the annual rate of food inflation was 3.9% in August 2010.
	In their June 2010 forecast, the Office for Budget Responsibility did not publish a separate forecast for the rate of food price inflation.

Gift Aid

James Wharton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average cost of processing a gift aid claim on donations made to charities was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Justine Greening: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not distinguish the costs of administering Gift Aid from other activities in relation to charities and charitable giving.
	An estimate of £5 per claim processed was included in the impact assessment on "Extending Charity Tax Reliefs to Certain Organisations in Europe" published on 24 March 2010. This figure is the minimum cost as it reflects only certain costs beyond the payroll cost of staff directly engaged in the repayment process.
	HMRC currently estimates that the average cost is around £8 per claim.

Green Investment Bank

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which official in his Department has lead policy responsibility for proposals relating to the establishment of a Green Investment Bank.

Justine Greening: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has lead policy responsibility for proposals relating to the Green Investment Bank, working closely with other Departments.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 29 July 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Noman.

David Gauke: The chief executive of HM Revenue and Customs replied to the right hon. Member on 14 September 2010.

Tax Allowances: Married People

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to bring forward proposals to introduce transferable tax allowances for married couples.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Mr Bain) on 9 June 2010,  Official Report, column 189W.

VAT: Crown Dependencies

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to amend the UK's Act of Accession to the European Communities to remove Crown Dependencies' eligibility for low value consignment relief.

David Gauke: The Government have no plans to bring forward amendments to the UK's treaty of accession to the EU in the manner the hon. Member suggests. However, as I told the House in my written answer to a question from the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid) on 13 July 2010,  Official Report, column 661W, the Government are actively reviewing the operation of Low Value Consignment Relief.

VAT: Hearing Aids

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to zero rate privately-purchased hearing aids for value added tax.

Justine Greening: holding answer 13 September 2010
	It is not possible to introduce a zero rate of VAT for privately-purchased hearing aids. Agreements with our EU partners prevent us from extending the scope of existing zero rates, or introducing new ones.

Welfare Tax Credits

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households receive the 50-plus element of working tax credit; and what the average payment of that element was in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: Approximately 15,000 families were benefiting from the 50-plus element at April 2010. On average these families were entitled to receive £4,720.

Welfare Tax Credits

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families receive the baby element of child tax credit; and what the average payment of that element was in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: The latest information on the number of families benefiting from the Baby Element of Child Tax Credits, is available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics April 2010". This can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-apr2010.pdf
	The average payment of the Baby Element is not available.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Politics and Government

David Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with President Karzai on membership of the Afghan government's High Level Peace Council.

William Hague: The appointment of members of the High Level Peace Council is a matter for the Afghan authorities and I have not discussed individual members with President Karzai. We welcome the recent announcement by President Karzai to set up a High Level Peace Council. We look forward to the announcement of the list of members in due course. The formation of the High Peace Council is a significant step to expedite the peace and reconciliation process, building on the successes of the Consultative Peace Jirga and Kabul Conference and rooted in the Afghan people's desire for peace. The UK continues to support the political process which is needed to bring the conflict in Afghanistan to an end.

Burma: Elections

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether officials in the British Embassy in Burma have had recent discussions with leaders of ethnic minorities in Burma on the forthcoming elections.

David Lidington: Our embassy in Rangoon regularly meets representatives of ethnic minority groups both inside Burma and on the Thai-Burma border. This includes recent meetings with the Karen, Shan, Rohingya, Mon and Chin where forthcoming elections were discussed. Such groups have faced difficulties with the process of registration, membership listing, candidate nominations, severe funding restrictions and in some cases harassment from the regime. Foreign and Commonwealth officials also recently met a delegation of ethnic representatives in London to discuss forthcoming elections and further meetings with ethnic leaders are scheduled. Our ambassador in Rangoon repeatedly raises his concern with the regime that forthcoming elections will not be free and fair while ethnic and other opposition parties continue to be excluded or face tough restrictions.

Dalai Lama

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what dates the Dalai Lama last visited the UK; for how long he stayed; where he visited; what the purpose of the visit was; in what manner and by whom he was received by the Government; what advice the Government gave his representatives in the UK on the visit; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: His Holiness, the Dalai Lama last officially visited the UK, in May 2008. He was invited by Harry Cohen MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet, the Network of Buddhist Organisations in the UK, Oxford Blackfriars Hall and the Oxford Buddhist Society, which organised his programme of visits in London, Nottingham and Oxford.
	The Dalai Lama met the previous Prime Minister, on May 23, at Lambeth Palace in his capacity as a religious leader. They discussed interfaith issues.

European Parliament

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the adoption of a single seat for the European Parliament.

David Lidington: The Government's policy is to press for the European Parliament to have only one seat, in Brussels.
	The Government oppose the dual sitting of the European Parliament as it is a huge waste of time and resources. Estimates suggest that having two seats for the European Parliament currently costs the British taxpayer £28 million per year and also means that 20,000 extra tonnes of carbon dioxide are emitted each year in the process.

Human Trafficking

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department takes to provide assistance to UK citizens who have been trafficked overseas and are prosecuted overseas for offences committed under duress.

David Lidington: If a British national is prosecuted overseas for a crime that may have been committed under duress, we would expect their lawyer to address this at the trial. If, however, these points are not duly considered during the judicial process, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-in consultation with the law-would consider taking up the British national's concerns with the relevant authorities. As a last resort, where there is prima facie evidence of a denial or miscarriage of justice and where we have made representations that have failed to secure a remedy, we can consider supporting an application for clemency.

Narco-terrorism: Mexico

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department has given to the government of Mexico to counter narco-terrorism.

Henry Bellingham: I will reply to my hon. Friend shortly.
	 Substantive answer from Henry Bellingham to Mark Pritchard:
	I refer my hon. Friend to the response given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Home Department (Nick Herbert), on 14 September 2010,  Official Report, column 964W.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all pre-2003 Child Support Agency cases will be transferred to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission by 2011.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all pre-2003 Child Support Agency cases will be transferred to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission by 2011.
	The problems encountered by the Child Support Agency following the launch of the Reforms in 2003 resulted in a decision to defer the bulk transfer of cases from the old (launched in 1993) scheme, to the current (launched in 2003) child support scheme. In the meantime, cases were only migrated from the old computer system to the new computer system where they had a link with a case on the new system that made this necessary.
	This decision was kept under review and in February 2006 the Government asked Sir David Henshaw to review the entire system of child maintenance. His subsequent report led to the Government's White paper and to the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008, which makes provision for a new system of child maintenance known as the "future scheme".
	The Commission continues to develop plans for a future scheme that is intended to replace both the existing schemes. As with all government departments, the Commission is undertaking a review of its plans as part of the current spending review and in line the new government's priorities.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in poverty  (a) before and  (b) after housing costs in Peterborough constituency in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
	As they are based on survey data, child poverty estimates published in HBAI only allow breakdowns to Government Office Region and analysis by parliamentary constituency is not possible. However, figures for East of England are set out in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number and percentage of children living in households with less than 60% of contemporary median household income for the East of England, Before Housing Costs and After Housing Costs 
			   Before Housing Costs  After Housing Costs 
			  Period  Number (million)  Percentage  Number (million)  Percentage 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.2 15 0.3 23 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.2 15 0.3 23 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.2 16 0.3 24 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.2 15 0.3 25 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.2 15 0.3 26 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.2 16 0.3 26 
			  Notes: 1. These statistics are based on the Households Below Average Income series, sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 2. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures are single financial years. Three survey years have been combined as regional single year estimates are subject to volatility. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. For the Households Below Average Income series, incomes have been equivalised using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) modified equivalisation factors. 6. Numbers of adults and children in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.  Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP

Children: Tyne and Wear

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of children  (a) in absolute poverty,  (b) in relative poverty and  (c) with combined material deprivation and low income in Washington and Sunderland West constituency.

Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
	As they are based on survey data, child poverty estimates published in HBAI only allow breakdowns to Government office region and analysis by parliamentary constituency is not possible. However, figures for the north-east of England are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of children living in (a) absolute poverty, (b) relative poverty and (c) combined material deprivation and low income in the North East of England, before housing costs 
			  Period  Number of children (million/percentage) 
			   Relative poverty  Absolute poverty  Combined material deprivation and low income 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.1 (28%) 0.1 (14%) 0.1 (20%) 
			  Notes: 1. These statistics are based on the Households Below Average Income series, sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 2. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures are single financial years. Three survey years have been combined as regional single year estimates are subject to volatility. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. For the Households Below Average Income series, incomes have been equivalised using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) modified equivalisation factors. 6. Numbers of children in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 7. These statistics are based on incomes before housing costs. 8. Each of the measures is defined as: Relative poverty: percentage of children living in households with less than 60% of contemporary median household income. Absolute poverty: percentage of children living in households with less than 60% of 1998-99 median household income held constant in real terms. Low income and material deprivation: percentage of children living in households in material deprivation and with less than 70% of contemporary median household income.  Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP

Departmental Billing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many payments to suppliers were made by  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies (i) within 30 days of, (ii) over 30 days after, (iii) over 60 days after and (iv) over 90 days after the date of invoice in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The following information details the volumes of payments to suppliers made in August 2010 by the Department. DWP payment terms are calculated from the receipt of a valid invoice rather than the date of invoice.
	Separate figures detailing payments at over 60 days and over 90 days are not collected and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  DWP 
			  Number 
			  August 2010 information (latest available figures)  Payments made within 30-day timeframe  Payments made beyond 30-day timeframe 
			 Department for Work and Pensions 58,763 289 
		
	
	
		
			  DWP agencies 
			  Number 
			  August 2010 information (latest available figures)  Payments made within 30-day timeframe  Payments made beyond 30-day timeframe 
			 The Pensions, Disability and Carers Service 32,750 36 
			 Corporate and other(1) 107,74 170 
			 Jobcentre Plus 15,239 83 
			 (1) Includes housing benefit, Welfare and Wellbeing Group, Employment Group and European Social Fund. 
		
	
	
		
			  DWP non-departmental public bodies (NDPB's) 
			  Number 
			  August 2010 information (latest available figures)  Payments made within 30-day timeframe  Payments made beyond 30-day timeframe 
			 The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission 2,171 1 
			 Independent Living Fund 77 2 
			 National Employment Savings Trust 145 22 
			 Pensions Ombudsman/Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman 28 0 
			 Pension Protection Fund 185 64 
			 The Pensions Advisory Service 66 1 
			 The Pensions Regulator 273 22 
			 Health and Safety Executive 1,201 11 
			 Disability Employment Advisory Committee 0 0 
			 Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board 0 0 
			 Industrial Injuries Advisory Council 0 0 
			 Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC)(1) - - 
			 Equality 2025(1) - - 
			 (1 )All invoices relating to SSAC and Equality 2025 are included within the DWP return.

Departmental Training

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many external training courses were attended by staff of his Department in the last 12 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such course.

Chris Grayling: Information about how many external training courses were attended by DWP staff and associated costs is not held centrally, as a consequence the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Funding for learning and development opportunities is held and managed by individual business areas.

Employment: East Lothian

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of jobs supported by the Future Jobs Fund in the area most closely corresponding to East Lothian constituency for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The Young Person's Guarantee statistics were published on 11 August 2010 and are available here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=ypg
	Statistics are available on the Future Jobs Fund which covers the period from October 2009 to May 2010. They show that there were 4,460 recorded Future Jobs Fund starts in Scotland. The information requested for East Lothian is not available.

Future Jobs Fund: Washington Tyne and Wear

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs in the  (a) public,  (b) private and  (c) third sector have been created by funding from the Future Jobs Fund in Washington and Sunderland West constituency in the last 12 months.

Chris Grayling: The Young Person's Guarantee statistics were published on 11 August 2010 and are available here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=ypg
	Statistics are available on the Future Jobs Fund which covers the period from October 2009 to May 2010. They show that there were 2,310 recorded Future Jobs Fund starts in the North East to the end of May 2010. The information requested for Washington and Sunderland West is not available.

Health and Safety Executive

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the future of the Health and Safety Executive.

Chris Grayling: Our priority is to ensure that health and safety is regulated fairly and proportionately. That is vital for a strong economy, and for a healthy and productive work force.
	This Department's planning proposals, including in respect of the Health and Safety Executive, will be developed as part of this autumn's spending review.

Housing Benefit: Camden

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in the London borough of Camden have been unemployed for more than a year and are claiming housing benefit.

Steve Webb: The information is not available.

Housing Benefit: Scotland

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of claimants of housing benefit in  (a) Scotland,  (b) Glasgow and  (c) Glasgow North West (i) are claimants of jobseeker's allowance and (ii) have claimed jobseeker's allowance for 12 months or more.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.
	From February 2007, DWP has been collecting more detailed housing benefit and council tax benefit data electronically from local authorities. Over time this will improve the accuracy, timeliness and level of detail available in the published statistics, as the information supplied is quality assured.
	At present, the management information needed to estimate durations on housing benefit has not been sufficiently quality assured; and, while information is collected on the number of claimants in receipt of a passported benefit, which includes income- based jobseeker's allowance, the total number of jobseeker's allowance claimants receiving housing benefit is not available.
	Housing benefit case load and average weekly amounts are available at local authority area level and these are published on the Department's website at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/index.php?page=hbctb_arc

Incapacity Benefit: Medical Examinations

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants were unable to undergo medical examinations in the Aberdeen trial area because they were unfit to travel.

Chris Grayling: Neither the Department nor its supplier, Atos Healthcare, collate information on the number of customers called to assessment that are unfit to travel.
	However, for the period June 2010 to August 2010, one incapacity benefit customer, who would normally have been examined at Aberdeen Medical Examination Centre, was assessed by home visit. A home visit can be arranged by Atos Healthcare when a customer has difficulty travelling to the examination centre, e.g. due to the availability of public transport or fitness to travel.

Incapacity Benefit: Wimbledon

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Wimbledon constituency claimed incapacity benefit in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2010.

Chris Grayling: The information is provided in the table-please note that no new claims to incapacity benefit were accepted after 27 October 2008 as it was replaced by employment and support allowance from this date. There is not yet data available for 2010-November 2009 is the most recent data available.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants in Wimbledon parliamentary constituency. 
			   Total number of claimants 
			 February 2005 1,730 
			 February 2007 1,710 
			 November 2009 1,390 
			  Notes: 1. Incapacity Benefit was replaced by Employment Support Allowance (ESA) from October 2008. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. IB/SDA 'Claimants' include people in receipt of benefit and also those who fail the contributions conditions but receive a National Insurance Credit, i.e. 'credits only cases'. 4. Constituencies used are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2005.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent data.

Industrial Diseases: Asbestos

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who have been paid compensation by  (a) insurance companies and  (b) employers for diseases caused by exposure to asbestos in the workplace; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jobcentre Plus staff are employed on fixed-term contracts; how many of them have been granted contract extensions since 22 June 2010; and what the estimated cost is of extending these contracts.

Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many Jobcentre Plus staff are employed on fixed-term contracts, how many of them have been granted contract extensions since 22 June 2010, and what the estimated cost is of extending these contracts. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The latest externally published staffing numbers are for March 2010. This data shows that, at that date, Jobcentre Plus employed 13,624 full-time equivalents on fixed-term contracts.
	The latest internal management information shows that the fixed-term contracts for 1,211 full-time equivalents were due to end between 22 June 2010 and the end of September 2010. Of these 593 had their contracts extended.
	The majority of these extensions are for 3 months. The estimated cost of these extensions is approximately £3m. However, the decision to extend these contracts was made due to higher staff attrition rates, so with less staff in the organisation these extensions were contained within original budget.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Gateshead

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in Gateshead constituency.

Chris Grayling: In June 2010 there were 95 lone parents claiming jobseeker's allowance in Gateshead.
	The figure has been rounded to the nearest five.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Wolverhampton

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people will have been on jobseeker's allowance for over 12 months by 2013 in Wolverhampton North East constituency.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available.

Means-tested Benefits

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of  (a) retaining each universal benefit at the average rate and  (b) adopting means testing for all benefits at the average rate in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) each of the next four years.

Maria Miller: The information that is available is provided in the following table. This sets out, for 2010-11 and each of the next four years, the forecast expenditure on the main DWP payments that have no means test and do not require national insurance contributions to have been made. The estimated cost of adopting means testing for all benefits is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Benefit expenditure forecasts, 2010-11 to 2014-15 
			  £ million, nominal terms 
			   2010-11  2011-12  2012-13  2013-14  2014-15 
			 Disability living allowance 12,113 12,704 13,305 13,530 13,444 
			 Attendance allowance 5,330 5,539 5,759 5,962 6,172 
			 Carer's allowance 1,645 1,773 1,885 1,995 2,086 
			 Christmas bonus 156 156 158 159 161 
			 Winter fuel payments 2,734 2,134 2,117 2,099 2,084 
			 Over 75 TV licence 569 591 615 641 681 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest million. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Figures are for Great Britain, but also include a small amount of expenditure for claimants who have moved abroad.  Source: June 2010 Budget forecast

Security

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many British standards apply to the installation and maintenance of automatic security gates; and what training is required of people installing them.

Chris Grayling: The British Standards Institution, which is the source of British Standards, has published six standards which are directly applicable:
	BS EN 12635 'Industrial, commercial and garage doors and gates-Installation and use'
	BS EN 12445 'Industrial, commercial and garage doors and gates-Safety in use of power operated doors-Test methods'
	BS EN 12453 'Industrial, commercial and garage doors and gates-Safety in use of power operated doors-Requirements'
	BS EN 12604 'Industrial, commercial and garage doors and gates-Mechanical aspects-Requirements'
	BS EN 13241-1:2003 'Industrial, commercial and garage doors and gates-Product standard. Part 1: products without fire resistance or smoke control characteristics'
	BS EN 12978 'Industrial, commercial and garage doors and gates-Safety devices for power operated doors and gates-Requirements and test methods'.
	There is no specific statutory training required for individuals installing automatic security gates. However, the Health and Safety at Work Act requires employers and the self-employed to conduct their undertakings in such a way that persons not in their employment are not exposed to risks. This means that the installers must have the necessary competence to produce a safe final product and, to do this, they will require an understanding of the relevant standards.
	British standards are available as priced publications from the BSI website:
	http://www.bsigroup.com/

Security

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the Health and Safety Executive monitors automatic security gates in the workplace for  (a) compliance with relevant British Standards and  (b) safety of operation.

Chris Grayling: Organisations which install, use or maintain this type of gate have duties under health and safety law. The main way in which HSE monitors compliance with the law is through proactive visits to workplaces by inspectors and other front-line staff. If an inspector has concerns about the safety of electrically powered gates, then they will enquire into the maintenance arrangements and seek assurance or demonstration that the safety devices are in working order. If inquiries are made of installers of such gates, then their knowledge of the relevant British Standards would be examined. Enforcement action, including Prohibition and Improvement Notices, may be taken where significant deficiencies are found, even if an injury has not occurred.

Security

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) deaths and  (b) serious injuries have been caused by the operation of automatic security gates in the workplace in each of the last five years.

Chris Grayling: HSE's best estimate is in the following table.
	
		
			  Severity  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2010-11  Total 
			 Fatal - - - 1 - - 2 3 
			 Major injury - 3 - 2 3 3 - 11 
			 Over 3 day injury 1 1 - 1 - 5 - 8 
			 Total 1 4 - 4 3 8 2 22 
		
	
	HSE's best estimate has been created following the interrogation of HSE databases using the terms 'electric gates', 'powered gate' and 'power gate operator'. This approach is used because those notifying the incident do not always use the consistent terms in describing the events that are reported. As a consequence there is no easy way ensuring that all records of a similar nature are accounted for. Similarly, it is not always possible to distinguish workplaces or other premises.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of each benefit type received a benefit sanction in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available in the format requested. Information is not available on sanctions in respect of people claiming income support, incapacity benefit, and employment and support allowance. The available information for jobseeker's allowance is in the table.
	Data for 2010-11 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Number of individuals claiming jobseeker's a llowance, where a sanction has been applied in Great Britain, April 2009 to March 2010 
			   Number 
			 All sanctions 379,030 
			 Varied length sanctions 51,510 
			 Fixed length sanctions 68,240 
			 Entitlement decisions 259,280 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten. Some additional disclosure control has been applied. 2. The number of sanctions applied is the number of individuals where there has been an adverse decision. 3. Varied length sanctions are where the JSA claimant has their payment temporarily suspended for anything up to 26 weeks. 4. Fixed length sanctions are where the JSA claimant has their payment temporarily suspended for either two, four or 26 weeks. 5. Entitlement decisions are where the JSA claimant has their entitlement to JSA ended. 6. Only the most recent sanction for each individual is shown.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants of each benefit type received a benefit sanction of more than one week's benefit entitlement in 2009-10.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with those responsible for making medical assessments of eligibility for employment and support allowance for people with  (a) Asperger's syndrome and  (b) other parts of the autism spectrum on their training in making such assessments; what medical experience such assessors are required to have; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: Officials have discussed the training of healthcare professionals in relation to Autistic Spectrum Disorders with Atos Healthcare to ensure that they are able to conduct assessments for employment and support allowance to the required standards.
	All Atos healthcare professionals conducting Employment and Support Allowance assessments receive training regarding Autistic Spectrum Disorders. The training is tailored to individual need but includes provision of information about Autistic Spectrum Disorders contained in evidence-based protocols for mental health conditions, a face to face "learning set" on Asperger's syndrome, a distance learning module on Asperger's syndrome and a DVD on autism.
	Healthcare professionals are required to have a minimum of three years post-registration experience and this should include broad based medical practice in roles that have clear relevance to a career in disability assessment medicine. In individual cases, solely at the discretion of the DWP Chief Medical Adviser, the requirement that a healthcare professional must have a minimum of three years post-registration experience may be waived.

Child Benefit

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many counterclaims have been made for child benefit in each of the last five years; and how many such claims have led to the other parent's child benefit being stopped.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
	HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) do not keep statistical information on how many child benefit claims are perceived to be malicious nor does the Department record how many competing claims resulted in an existing claimant's child benefit being stopped.
	HMRC received around 140,000 claims to child benefit during 2009-10, where another adult was already claiming for the same child or children, and have received around 46,500 such claims in 2010-11 up to and including August 2010. Reliable information is not available for 2008-09 and earlier years.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Business Improvement Districts

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many business improvement districts there were  (a) in each of the last three years and  (b) on the latest date for which information is available.

Bob Neill: The Department does not hold information on numbers of business improvement districts (BIDs) on an annual basis.
	The total number of BIDs as of September 2010 is 92, 15 of which are in their second term.

Council Housing: Finance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the reform of council housing finance.

Andrew Stunell: We are reviewing the unfair Housing Revenue Account Subsidy system as part of the Spending Review.

Council Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate his Department has made of the number of homes in England incorrectly banded in the 2005 council tax revaluation.

Bob Neill: No council tax revaluation took place in 2005.

Departmental Cleaning Services

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on cleaning in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08,  (c) 2008-09 and  (d) 2009-10.

Bob Neill: Communities and Local Government have spent the following on cleaning in its headquarters buildings in London during:  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08,  (c) 2008-09 and  (d) 2009-10.
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 2006-07 594,155 
			 2007-08 655,534 
			 2008-09 370,386 
			 2009-10 423,553 
		
	
	In July 2004, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister signed a contract with Mitie for contract cleaning services in Ashdown House and Eland House, London Victoria. In May 2010, the Department gave due notice to reduce the level of contract cleaning in its remaining headquarters building, Eland House, achieving ongoing savings of circa £150,000 per year.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what declarations of  (a) interests,  (b) gifts and  (c) hospitality were made by special advisers in his Department in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10.

Bob Neill: In the periods 2007-08 and 2008-09 no declarations of interests, gifts or hospitality were made by special advisers in Communities and Local Government and in 2009-10 there was one declaration of a gift made by special adviser.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in his Department in July 2010.

Bob Neill: Communities and Local Government spent £80 on the provision of hospitality at a ministerial reception for housebuilders in July 2010.

Domestic Violence: Supporting People Programme

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many support units for  (a) women and  (b) men at risk of domestic violence were provided or part-funded by Supporting People in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Andrew Stunell: There were 10,549 Domestic Violence House-Hold Units funded by the Supporting People programme as at 31 March 2009. Information is not broken down between male and female. Data for 2009-10 is not yet available.
	Information returned by the providers of Supporting People services show that in 2009-10. 26,361 clients entering services were defined as 'people at risk of domestic violence'. 25.927 of these were female (98%), 434 were male (2%).

Domestic Violence: Supporting People Programme

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have been granted Supporting People funding to support  (a) women and  (b) men at risk of domestic violence in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Andrew Stunell: The Supporting People programme grant, which enables local authorities to provide housing related support services including domestic violence provision, is allocated to the 152 top tier authorities. However, CLG do not specify what proportion of the Supporting People budget should be allocated to individual client groups or services. The provision of Supporting People housing related support services, including domestic violence provision for men and women, is a matter for local authorities to determine based on local needs and priorities.

Fire Services

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent submissions he has received on the future use of the  (a) estate and  (b) IT system constructed as part of the FiReControl project.

Bob Neill: One recent submission from EADS has been received specifically on the future of the estate and IT system constructed as part of the FiReControl project.

Fire Services

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have had on the future use of the (i) estate and (ii) IT system constructed as part of the FiReControl project since 25 May 2010; and which organisations (A) requested and (B) attended such meetings.

Bob Neill: The Government are becoming increasingly concerned at the inability of EADS to deliver on its contractual obligations to a sufficient quality and time and we have made this clear to them in no uncertain terms.
	Since 25 May 2010 my officials have had one meeting with EADS, specifically at their request, to hear their alternative ideas for the future use of the estate and IT system constructed as part of the FiReControl project. I have met with EADS recently, at their request, when they offered to deliver a system with reduced functionality by June 2011. We have made it clear that none of these plans is under consideration and EADS must deliver the contracted solution by the contracted date(s).
	The Government are committed to ensuring value for money for the taxpayer, improving resilience and stopping the forced regionalisation of the fire service.

Fire Services: Finance

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of his Department's in-year budgetary savings for 2010-11 will come from the central Government grant to fire and rescue authorities in England; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: There has been no reduction to the formula grant allocated to local authorities for 2010-11, which includes grant payments to fire and rescue authorities in England.

Fires: Electric Cables

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fires in private rented properties  (a) in North Swindon constituency and  (b) England and Wales were attributed to faults in electrical installations and products in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: Fire incident data are available up to the end of March 2010, but only to Fire and Rescue Authority level, and dwelling tenure details are not collected under the Fire and Rescue Incident Recording System. Therefore the data in the table are for all dwellings, and for Wiltshire rather than for North Swindon.
	
		
			  Fires in dwellings attributable to faults in electrical installations and products, April 2009 to March 2010 
			   Number 
			 Wiltshire 65 
			 England 7,147 
			 England and Wales 7,563 
			  Source: Fire and Rescue incident records, CLG

Fruit

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on fruit supplied to Ministerial offices in his Department in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Bob Neill: None.

Housing Improvements: Disability

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of the disabled facilities grant; if he will retain current funding levels for the grant; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: The disabled facilities grant assists disabled people to live as comfortably and independently as possible in their own homes. Any statements concerning levels of funding in respect of the disabled facilities grant programme will be made following the spending review settlement.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how soon he expects local enterprise partnerships to be established once they have been approved by his Department.

Bob Neill: The closing date for submitting local enterprise partnership proposals to the Government was 6 September 2010. I am pleased to confirm that Government received 57 proposals from groups of councils and businesses from across the country. A joint press notice is available on the CLG and BIS websites.
	The Government are keen to see partnerships remain proactive and maintain momentum. Over the coming weeks Ministers will consider the proposals in detail, looking at how they will support economic growth, before providing feedback to partnerships ahead of the publication of the White Paper on sub-national economic growth and the introduction of the Localism Bill.

Local Government Finance: Wigan

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether he has made an assessment of the impact on frontline services in Wigan of the spending reductions he announced in his written ministerial statement of 10 June 2010,  Official Report, columns 15-17WS, on the local government savings package;
	(2)  what representations he has from individuals and organisations in Wigan on the effect of the spending reductions he announced in the written ministerial statement of 10 June 2010,  Official Report, columns 15-17WS, on the local government savings package, on forthcoming services in Wigan.

Bob Neill: We asked local authorities to make a contribution of £1.166 billion to the £6.2 billion of cross-Government savings in 2010-11 to enable the Government to take immediate action to start to tackle the fiscal deficit. We have taken action to provide the flexibility needed to allow local authorities the freedom to make their own decisions about where savings are found without impacting on essential frontline services. The Government lifted restrictions on how local authorities spend their funding on grants totalling £1.2 billion. We also made no changes to the amount of formula grant which each council received this year. This is the main funding paid to local authorities with no strings on how they use that money. The impact on their area of the reductions in grants this year will be for local authorities to decide. We have received no representations from individuals and. organisations in Wigan on the effect of these changes on services.

Non-domestic Rates

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average national non-domestic rate bill was in each  (a) region and  (b) local authority area in each of the last three years.

Bob Neill: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table containing details of the average national non-domestic rates bill in each  (a) Government office region and  (b) local authority area in England in each of the last three years.
	The data, which refer to the local lists only, are taken from NNDR returns submitted by billing authorities in England.
	Average non-domestic rates are calculated by dividing the net rate yield, after deductions for reliefs, from local authorities' lists by the number of hereditaments on local lists as at 31 December of the previous year. Comparisons across years should be treated with caution as figures will reflect changes in the number and type of hereditaments as well as changes to rateable values and multipliers.

Non-domestic Rates

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much each local authority collected in national non-domestic rate revenue in each of the last three years.

Bob Neill: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table containing details of the amount of national non-domestic rates collected in each local authority area in England in each of the last three years.
	The data are taken from the national non-domestic rates (NNDR3) returns submitted annually by all local billing authorities in England.

Non-domestic Rates

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many national non-domestic rate hereditaments there were in each  (a) region and  (b) local authority area in each of the last three years.

Bob Neill: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table containing details of the number of national non-domestic rate hereditaments in each  (a) Government office region and  (b) local authority area in each of the last three years.
	The data are as at 31 December and are taken from the national non-domestic rates (NNDR1) returns submitted annually by all local billing authorities in England.

Planning Inspectorate: Handbooks

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the Planning Inspectors' Handbook.

Bob Neill: A copy of the Planning Inspectors' Handbook is available in the Library of the House. The Government have announced and will continue to announce significant changes to planning policy and practice. On this basis, a decision has been taken to cancel and archive the Inspectors' Handbook and to ensure that all new advice to Planning Inspectors is provided through the PINS or CLG websites.

Referendums

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to give residents the power to instigate binding local referendums on any local issue.

Bob Neill: As we made clear in our coalition programme for government, published on 20 May, we will give residents the power to instigate local referendums on any local issue. We intend to include the necessary statutory provisions as part of the Localism Bill which was announced in the Queen's Speech for this parliamentary Session.

Smith Institute

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what strategic consultancy work was undertaken by the Smith Institute for his Department in 2009-10; what the cost was; and which Minister authorised the contract.

Bob Neill: The Smith Institute produced the monograph 'the thames gateway - where next?' in 2009-10. Communities and Local Government contributed £13,374.94 towards its cost and allied research. The then Minister for the Thames Gateway (Mr Shahid Malik) approved the contribution.

Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's press release of 5 August 2010, if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract and project brief for work undertaken for Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation by Connect Public Affairs; and how much was spent on the contract.

Bob Neill: I have arranged for a copy of the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation's contract with Connect Public Affairs to be placed in the Library of the House. In the last 12 months, the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation has paid £45,102 in professional fees to Connect Public Affairs to provide political monitoring and support their communications, stakeholder engagement and events strategies.

Waste Management: Departmental Responsibilities

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what responsibilities his Department has for the  (a) development and  (b) implementation of (i) policy and (ii) programmes relating to (A) waste and (B) recycling; which of these responsibilities are shared with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure the effective co-ordination of such policies and programmes between the two Departments.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on cross-cutting issues, including helping rural communities, protecting our countryside and natural heritage, tackling flooding, promoting sustainable building and waste and recycling policy.
	We ensure effective working through a number of mechanisms, including representation on relevant departmental programme boards, and the close working of Ministers.
	This close working is illustrated by the press releases of 7 June 2010 and 19 July 2010 on the new Government's policy of scrapping bin taxes, issued jointly from the two respective Secretaries of State.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsstories/newsroom/1607787
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/newsroom/1643149

West Northamptonshire Development Corporate: Public Relations

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's press release of 5 August 2010, if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract and project brief for work undertaken for West Northants Development Corporation by Chelgate Public Affairs; and how much was spent on the contract.

Andrew Stunell: holding answer 13 September 2010
	West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) appointed Chelgate Ltd in November 2008 to deliver consultancy support as set out in the project brief, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House. The contract was terminated in May 2010. The total cost of the work under the contract was £133,803.

West Northamptonshire Development Corporation: Public Relations

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons the West Northants Development Corporation had a contract with Chelgate Public Affairs.

Andrew Stunell: West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) appointed Chelgate Ltd in November 2008 to deliver consultancy support as set out in the project brief, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House. The contract was terminated in May 2010. The total cost of the work under the contract was £133,803.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy Supply

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make a statement on his Department's contribution to the Strategic Defence and Security Review with regard to the energy security of the UK.

Charles Hendry: The Government will publish its findings from the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) later in the autumn, in coordination with the outcome of the Spending Review. Energy Security is being considered as part of the review.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what requirements there are on  (a) district and  (b) county councils to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 13 September 2010
	There are no requirements for local authorities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are however three reporting requirements for local authorities.
	National Indicators 185 and 186 measure percentage reductions in emissions from local authorities' own estate and operations and emissions from local authority areas respectively. They, and all national indicators, are currently under review by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	The Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (HECA) places a duty on those local authorities with housing responsibilities to produce, publish and submit to the Secretary of State a report which sets out energy conservation measures that the authority considers practical, cost-effective and likely to result in significant improvement in the energy efficiency of residential accommodation in its area and to report progress made in implementing the measures.
	From April 2010, the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme requires those qualifying local authorities to report their own estate emissions, and will incentivise them to improve their performance relative to other participants.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Business

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to introduce mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by businesses; and if he will make a statement.

James Paice: I have been asked to reply.
	The Climate Change Act 2008 requires that, by 6 April 2012, the Secretary of State either introduces regulations for mandatory reporting of greenhouse gases by companies or explains to Parliament why she has decided not to regulate.
	Once the Government have considered the contribution that reporting makes to the UK meeting its climate change objectives, we will decide whether to introduce regulations.

Power Stations: Offshore Industry

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what  (a) planning regulations,  (b) planning guidance and  (c) other regulations there are on the location of power stations required to connect offshore energy to the national grid.

Charles Hendry: There is no specific guidance for the siting of onshore substations to deliver offshore renewable energy into the electricity network. But any proposal will need to be justified in a planning process in terms of acceptability from an environmental and planning perspective.
	Together with Ofgem, we are currently consulting on the new competitive licensing regime to connect offshore windfarms to the onshore grid. This consultation seeks views on whether any further action is required to ensure a coordinated approach to the onshore and offshore grid within the regime. The consultation closes on 29 September 2010.

Renewable Energy: Electric Cables

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his Department's plans are to support the installation of high voltage direct current cabling and infrastructure for the distribution of offshore and onshore renewable electricity generation.

Charles Hendry: We expect offshore windfarm developers and onshore transmission owners to select the most cost-effective technology for their particular projects, which could include HVDC cables. DECC is committed to ensuring delivery of new network infrastructure at reasonable cost to consumers that we need to meet our energy and climate change goals. As the energy regulator, Ofgem assesses options proposed by industry for new network infrastructure. Ofgem make their decisions on funding new investments based on the impacts on cost to consumers and the need to deliver new infrastructure to meet energy and climate goals.
	Together with Ofgem, we are currently consulting on the new competitive licensing regime to connect offshore windfarms to the onshore grid. This consultation seeks views on whether any further action is required to ensure a coordinated approach to the onshore and offshore grid within the regime. The consultation closes on 29 September 2010.

Wind Power

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received from businesses on the financial situation of the offshore wind industry.

Charles Hendry: I am working closely with the offshore wind industry and receive representations on a range of issues, including finance. The next meeting of the Offshore Wind Developers Forum, where such issues will be discussed, will take place on 28 October 2010.
	In addition, since August my officials have been conducting a series of one-to-one meetings with developers, as part of a proactive approach to stakeholder engagement.
	There has been a strongly favourable response from industry parties, including offshore wind developers, to our decision to improve grid access arrangements for new generation by introducing an enduring 'Connect and Manage' regime.

Wind Power

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to encourage foreign investment in the UK's offshore wind industry.

Charles Hendry: Offshore wind energy will make a key contribution to achieving our renewables targets. We will put in place a robust delivery plan which will take into account market and investor views. We are committed to comprehensive support for renewable electricity, through the establishment of a full system of feed-in tariffs-as well as the maintenance of banded renewables obligation certificates, with the aim of ensuring the most straightforward regime for investors. The Offshore Wind Developers Forum, which I co-chair, includes both domestic and international developers and has been tasked to ensure the viability and deliverability of offshore wind in the UK through existing and future rounds of development, and to maximise the economic opportunities available for UK-based business. In addition, Offshore grids are a significant opportunity for foreign investment. Offshore transmission operators (OFTOs) will be appointed through competitive tenders to build and maintain transmission networks in UK waters, with an expected £15 billion of investment required to 2020. We have already announced the appointment of three OFTOs to manage £700 million of offshore grid assets, one of which is an overseas investor.

Wind Power

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to increase the amount of offshore wind energy produced nationally.

Charles Hendry: We are committed to increasing significantly the amount of energy which is generated from renewable sources for reasons of energy security and to mitigate climate change. We are fortunate in having an abundant wind resource in the UK and are advancing the deployment of offshore wind energy to meet renewables and low carbon targets. We will put in place a robust delivery plan. We are aiming to publish more details in spring 2011. We are discussing the development a North Seas grid with other North European countries which would potentially enhance our energy security.

Wind Power: Noise

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what process his Department used to select Hayes McKenzie to oversee the investigation into the application of planning authorities of the ETSU R 97 method for the assessment and rating of noise from wind farms.

Charles Hendry: DECC selected Hayes McKenzie through standard Government procurement processes. We invited a number of expert organisations to bid for the contract, and assessed the bids received against standard procurement criteria. The Hayes McKenzie bid scored most highly against those criteria.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit the sale of alcohol below cost price.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 14 September 2010
	The Government are committed to banning the sale of alcohol below cost price. We are considering all options and plan to introduce this measure at the earliest opportunity without unduly impacting on industry or responsible drinkers.

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has  (a) taken since July 2010 and  (b) plans to take during the next three months to combat anti-Semitism; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Department of Communities and Local Government have the policy lead in tackling anti-Semitism.
	A cross-government working group to tackle anti-Semitism, which the Home Office is part of, was set up to take forward the Government's response to anti-Semitism. The working group meets quarterly and last met in July 2010.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Gateshead

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many residents of Gateshead borough  (a) are subject to antisocial behaviour orders and  (b) have breached an antisocial behaviour order in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Data collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued and breached are not available below Criminal Justice System (CJS) area level. A further breakdown could only be ascertained by reference to individual court files, which could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Hyndburn

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued to residents of Hyndburn in each year since 2002.

James Brokenshire: The latest available data on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued covers the period 1 April 1999 to 31 December 2008. Data collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the number of ASBOs issued are not available below Criminal Justice System (CJS) area level. A further breakdown could only be ascertained by reference to individual court files, which could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Antisocial Behaviour: Public Opinion

Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the findings of the July 2010 British Crime Survey in respect of public perceptions of levels of antisocial behaviour.

Theresa May: The 2009-10 British Crime Survey (BCS) shows that around one in seven adults in England and Wales (14%) perceive their local area suffers from high levels of antisocial behaviour (ASB).
	The survey findings also reveal large variations between local areas with, for example, over one in four people in the most deprived areas perceiving a high level of ASB, nearly five times the level in the most affluent areas.
	Previous findings have shown that around three-quarters of people who experienced ASB in their local area did not complain to any agency or individual. Incidents of drunk or rowdy behaviour were least likely to be reported (14%) whereas 49% of those who experienced noisy or nuisance neighbours complained to someone (2007-08 BCS).
	Levels of antisocial behaviour remain too high which is why we are reviewing all of the tools and powers that are available to police forces and other agencies to deal with ASB, including the antisocial behaviour order, to ensure those tackling it have an effective toolkit that is quick, practical and easy to use.

Asylum

James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department provides assistance to asylum seekers with a professional or skilled background to retain their skills whilst awaiting determination of their claims; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency does not provide assistance to asylum seekers with a professional or skilled background to retain their skills while awaiting determination of their claims.
	Asylum seekers are entitled to apply for permission to work if they have not received a decision on their initial claim after 12 months, providing the delay is not their fault. Following an amendment to the Immigration Rules, asylum seekers who apply for permission to work on the basis of such a delay are restricted to employment in jobs on the Shortage Occupation List.

Asylum

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers there are from each country of origin whose cases  (a) were pending at the inception of the legacy cases scheme and  (b) are still awaiting processing under that scheme.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is unable to accurately report on the initial or outstanding volume of asylum cases being dealt with by the Case Resolution Directorate (CRD) by nationality. As reported in July 2010 to the Home Affairs Select Committee, 50% of the concluded cases were data errors and required no further or any administrative action. Therefore, any such report would be unable to accurately represent CRD cases by nationality.
	The agency will be reporting on its current performance in clearing the backlog in the autumn. I am confident CRD are on track to clear the backlog of older asylum cases by summer 2011 or earlier.

Asylum: Pakistan

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women from Pakistan have applied for asylum in the UK in each year since 2000; and how many such applications were  (a) granted and  (b) refused.

Damian Green: The accompanying table shows the number of asylum applications from female nationals of Pakistan and initial decisions broken down by grants of asylum, grants of exceptional leave to remain (ELR), humanitarian protection (HP) and discretionary leave (DL) and refusals between 2001 and 2009 (figures for 2000 are not available). Figures only include initial decisions on asylum applications and exclude all subsequent decisions. Figures on initial decisions are shown by year of decision; initial decisions by year of application are not available.
	Information on asylum is published annually and quarterly in the Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom bulletin which is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Applications( 1 ) received for asylum in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and initial decisions on applications, female asylum applicants only, nationals of Pakistan, 2001 to 2009 
			   Applications  Initial decisions( 2) 
			Total initial decisions  Grants of asylum  Granted ELR/HP/DL( 3)  Total refusals 
			 2001 605 680 130 45 510 
			 2002 635 620 95 15 510 
			 2003 610 665 60 5 600 
			 2004 640 700 50 25 625 
			 2005 540 545 40 20 490 
			 2006 440 395 40 15 345 
			 2007 390 385 55 10 320 
			 2008 430 325 45 10 265 
			 2009(4) 405 395 50 5 335 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. (2) Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period and exclude the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions. (3) Humanitarian protection (HP) and discretionary leave (DL) replaced exceptional leave to remain (ELR) from 1 April 2003. (4 )Provisional figures.

Asylum: Pakistan

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an assessment of the human rights situation for women in Pakistan is made when determining asylum applications from such women.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency's Country of Origin Information (COI) Service produces COI reports focusing on the main human rights issues in countries that generate the most asylum claims in the UK. Each country report has a specific section which covers issues affecting women, including Pakistan.
	All asylum and Human Rights claims, including those from Pakistan, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 UN refugee convention and the European convention on human rights (ECHR) against the background of the latest available country information.

Borders: Personal Records

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions changes have been made to the specifications for the contract relating to the e-Borders programme.

Damian Green: There were 58 changes to the specifications for the contract formally agreed between the parties, many of which dealt with relatively minor changes.

Borders: Personal Records

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many consultants were employed by her Department on the e-Borders programme in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08,  (c) 2008-09 and  (d) 2009-10; how many have been employed in 2010-11 to date; what the cost to the public purse has been in each such case; what the role of each consultancy was in respect of the programme; what assessment she has made of the (i) value for money of the use of consultants and (ii) contribution by consultants to the management of the programme; and whether she plans to retain the use of consultants in the next e-Borders procurement exercise.

Damian Green: The following table provides the numbers and costs of consultants and independent contractors employed by the e-Borders programme since 2006.
	
		
			  Consultancy 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11( 1) 
			 Headcount 103 81 53 60 65 
			 Costs (£) 10,046,869 9,601,330 10,651,890 11,810,027 2,984,450 
			 (1 )3 months 
		
	
	Prior to contract award, the role of consultants was to manage and provide advice on the procurement process. Following contract award, consultants provided advice and support in a number of areas including business design, programme management, carrier and port liaison and testing activities.
	(i) All work carried out by consultants was agreed in formal work packages which detailed the deliverables and activities required. Achievement of those deliverables was signed off by civil servants. Consideration of the value for money provided by consultants in carrying out these activities was an integral part of the process in agreeing each work package.
	(ii) The e-Borders programme has been managed throughout by senior civil servants reporting ultimately to the senior responsible officer. Advice and guidance on specialist areas of expertise has been provided by consultants during this period to the senior management team and the e-Borders programme.
	The current plan is to retain some consultants to advise on the next e-Borders procurement exercise, with consultancy expenditure in the year to March 2011 currently forecast to fall to £7 million.
	The use of external consultants provides the UK Border Agency with specialist knowledge, skill, capacity and technical expertise that would not otherwise be available.
	The periods covered saw the programme move from procurement of the strategic solution and provision of the Semaphore pilot system to the more complex activity to assure the design and delivery of the strategic solution. The fall in consultant and contractor headcount during this time did not deliver an equivalent reduction in cost since there was an associated change in the mix and type of consultancy support provided, along with a need to use more hours from individual consultants because of the pressures on the programme and the requirement for their specialist knowledge.

Crime: Theft

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of  (a) burglary,  (b) theft and  (c) robbery were detected in each of the last nine years; and in respect of how many such offences suspects were proceeded against in each such year.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office is responsible for the police recorded crime statistics and data for the number of offences detected are given in the table.
	However, it is not possible to track individual offences through to any conclusion at court and we therefore cannot provide information on the number of suspects proceeded against for these offences.
	The collection of statistics on defendants proceeded against is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. However, data held by the Ministry of Justice is not directly comparable with the police recorded crime data shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of offences detected by the police in England and Wales( 1) 
			  Period  Burglary  Theft( 2) ;  Robbery 
			 2001-02(3) 103,455 364,839 19,820 
			 2002-03(4,5) 111,135 375,052 20,481 
			 2003-04 103,842 354,201 19,298 
			 2004-05 89,025 336,235 18,300 
			 2005-06 88,092 354,152 18,015 
			 2006-07 87,056 353,235 18,953 
			 2007-08 77,031 332,888 17,111 
			 2008-09 77,889 340,922 16,835 
			 2009-10 68,633 305,810 15,391 
			 (1) From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very small limited set of circumstances. This has significantly reduced the number of non-sanction detections which has been reflected in the overall detection numbers. (2) Includes offences against vehicles and other thefts. (3) Excludes British Transport Police. (4) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in April 2002 and figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. (5) Includes the British Transport Police from 2002-03 onwards.

Human Trafficking: Children

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children referred to the National Referral Mechanism have been identified as trafficked and subsequently prosecuted for alleged criminal activity in which they have been involved as a result of being trafficked.

Damian Green: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been consulted but does not hold records which could identify young offenders prosecuted for criminal activity committed as a direct consequence of their being trafficked.

Licensing Laws

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for temporary event notices there were in each local authority area in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: Data relating to the number of applications for temporary event notices (TENs) for each of the last three years are included in Tables 1-3. Copies of these tables will be placed in the Libraries of the House. Data for 2009-10 will be published on 29 September 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when her Department plans to reply to the letter of 30 July 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Waseem Shazad.

Damian Green: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 13 September 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 20 July 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr M. I. Khan.

Damian Green: I replied to the right hon. Member on behalf of the Home Secretary on 8 September 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 30 July 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr R. Boadi.

Damian Green: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 13 September 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 2 August 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms L. T. Sithole.

Damian Green: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 8 September 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 2 August 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr R. K. Mzwimbi.

Damian Green: I replied to the right hon. Member on behalf of the Home Secretary on 8 September 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 2 August 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr C. Madzonayiko.

Damian Green: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 13 September 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 2 August 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms S. Mpofo.

Damian Green: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 13 September 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 2 August 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Miss B. A. Boasiako.

Damian Green: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 8 September 2010.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 15 July 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs H. Farhat.

Damian Green: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 13 September 2010.

Off-licences

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licences for alcohol off-sales there are per head of population in each constituency.

James Brokenshire: On 31 March 2009 there were 44,432 premises licences with off sales only alcohol licences (as reported by 93% of all licensing authorities).
	A full breakdown by licensing authority per thousand population has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Data have been provided at local authority level as it is not available by constituency.
	 Source
	Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing, England and Wales, April 2008 to March 2009

Passports: Biometrics

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has concluded commercial negotiations with suppliers of second generation biometric passport technology; and what level of savings she expects to accrue to the Exchequer as a result of the introduction of such technology.

Damian Green: It is estimated that Exchequer savings of approximately £134 million will be realised by halting the introduction of fingerprint biometric passports.
	Commercial negotiations with suppliers of second generation biometric passport are nearing completion and the results of those negotiations will be announced in due course.

Schengen Agreement

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which EU proposals and initiatives other than those that seek to build upon the Schengen acquis have been presented to the Council pursuant to Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; what the date of presentation to the Council was of each; in respect of which such proposals and initiatives the UK has notified the President of the Council of its wish to participate in adoption and application; and on what date the UK made each such notification;
	(2)  which EU proposals or initiatives that seek to build upon the Schengen acquis and would, if adopted, apply to the UK, are under consideration at EU level; what the three month period in which the UK could notify the Council that it does not wish to take part in that proposal or initiative is in the case of each; what notifications the UK has made; and on what date in each case;
	(3)  which EU acts building upon the Schengen acquis that apply to the UK have been adopted following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon; and which of those have not yet entered into force;
	(4)  which EU acts which do not constitute part of the Schengen acquis or build upon that acquis which apply to the UK were adopted on the basis of Title IV of the Treaty establishing the European Community prior to the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon; which of those have not yet entered into force; and on what date the UK decided to  (a) take part in the adoption and application of the proposal or  (b) accept each such act;
	(5)  which EU acts and other legally binding EU provisions that constitute part of the Schengen acquis or which build upon that acquis apply to the UK and were adopted prior to the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon; and which of them have not yet entered into force;
	(6)  which EU acts, which do not build upon the Schengen acquis, which apply to the UK were adopted on the basis of Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon; which of them have not yet entered into force; and on what date the UK decided to  (a) take part in the adoption and application of the proposal and  (b) accept each such act.

James Brokenshire: The tables placed in the House Libraries set out measures which have been presented to the European Council pursuant to Title IV on the Treaty establishing the European Community ("TEC pre-Lisbon measures") and Title V of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU post-Lisbon measures") attracting the UK opt-in. It also presents measures pursuant to those elements of the Schengen acquis in which the UK participates (the police and criminal justice elements) since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, when our ability to opt out of such measures was created. The UK was automatically bound by any measure tabled pursuant to those elements of the Schengen acquis in which we participate prior to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. There is only one measure currently under negotiation which builds on those elements of the Schengen acquis to which we are bound: a Council Regulation to establish an Agency for the purposes of managing existing IT systems in the area of Justice and Home Affairs. The UK has notified its wish to participate in that measure.
	The table shows the main Title IV TEC measures for which information is held centrally and to which the opt-in applied. Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, more information has been held centrally.
	There have been 25 measures to which the Title V TFEU opt-in has applied, to which the UK has opted-in to 15 and out of six and a further four published proposals where the Government will take a decision within the next three months. There have been four measures to which the Schengen opt-out applied (excluding the IT Agency). The UK is participating in all four.
	Additional information on the dates when all these measures were presented, when the UK signalled its acceptance, when they were adopted and entered into force were not held centrally prior to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, all decisions to opt into or out of JHA measures are notified to Parliament at the time they are made. The first annual report will be presented to Parliament in December providing retrospective information on the UK's application of the opt-in Protocol from 1 December 2009 to 1 December 2010, a year since the Lisbon Treaty came into force.

Terrorism: Intercept Evidence

Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress her Department is making on determining ways to allow intercept evidence to be used in terrorism cases.

Theresa May: The Government are committed to seeking to find a practical way to allow the use of intercept evidence in court. An important first stage in doing so is ensuring that the previous analysis set out in the Privy Council review (Cm 7324), in 'Intercept as Evidence a report' (Cm 7760) and in the report by the Advisory Group of Privy Counsellors under cover of the right hon. Member's written ministerial statement of 25 March is assessed appropriately. We are currently doing so and will set out the way forward following that assessment.

Written Questions: Government Responses

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer question 8166, tabled on 8 July 2010, on the Terrorism Act 2000 (section 44).

Nick Herbert: holding answer 14 September 2010
	I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given on 14 September 2010,  Official Report, column 913W.

CABINET OFFICE

European Year of Volunteering

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what activities have been funded by the European Year of Voluntary Activities Promoting Active Citizenship in the UK.

Nick Hurd: Policy related to volunteering is a devolved issue. Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are developing separate plans for activity related to the European Year of Volunteering 2011.
	The Office for Civil Society is currently developing a work programme for activity in England for submission to the European Commission. Further information on activity planned for the year in England will be made available in the autumn of 2010.

Industrial Disputes

Sajid Javid: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many  (a) collective and  (b) individual trade disputes of each type in the (i) public and (ii) private sector were recorded in each class of economic activity under the 2007 Standard Industrial Classification in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many (a) collective and (b) individual trade-disputes of each type in the (i) public and (ii) private sector were recorded in each class of economic activity under the 2007 Standard Industrial Classification in each year since 1990; arid if he will make a-statement. (14106)
	The Office for National Statistics compiles monthly labour disputes statistics for the UK. They exclude disputes which do not result in a stoppage of work and stoppages involving fewer than ten workers or lasting less than one day, unless the total number of working days lost in the dispute is 100 or more.
	Figures on a public and private sector basis are only available from 1996 onwards. No breakdown is available by industry and by a public/private split. Figures are also only available for collective disputes.
	Table 1 provides estimates of the number of stoppages for the public and private sector; in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2009. Table 2 provides figures on an industrial sector basis.
	
		
			  Table 1: Stoppages for the public and private sector 
			  Number 
			   Public sector  Private sector 
			 1996 102 142 
			 1997 89 127 
			 1998 78 88 
			 1999 103 102 
			 2000 113 99 
			 2001 111 83 
			 2002 61 85 
			 2003 46 87 
			 2004 68 62 
			 2005 60 56 
			 2006 87 71 
			 2007 90 52 
			 2008 75 69 
			 2009 49 49 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Stoppages on an industrial sector basis 
			  Number 
			  (SIC 2003)  Agriculture,  forestry and fishing  Mining, quarrying, electricity, gas and water supply  Manufacturing  Construction  Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles  Transport, storage, information and communication 
			 1996 1 6 67 11 1 71 
			 1997 0 1 53 11 2 68 
			 1998 0 1 36 13 1 57 
			 1999 0 0 37 20 4 91 
			 2000 0 3 38 16 4 116 
			 2001 0 3 32 9 7 94 
			 2002 0 2 33 3 8 51 
			 2003 0 1 43 4 2 45 
			 2004 0 3 30 1 1 46 
			 2005 0 2 19 3 1 42 
			 2006 0 2 25 5 4 30 
			 2007 1 0 22 4 0 55 
			 2008 2 1 21 4 3 28 
			 2009 1 1 6 7 0 33 
		
	
	
		
			  Number 
			  (SIC 2003)  Financial intermed i ation, real estate, renting and business activities  Public administration and defence  Education  Health and social work  Other community, social and personal service activities etc 
			 1996 6 21 40 9 11 
			 1997 10 23 35 7 8 
			 1998 6 10 19 6 17 
			 1999 3 17 21 4 9 
			 2000 1 7 18 10 13 
			 2001 2 22 16 12 10 
			 2002 4 20 16 14 11 
			 2003 2 10 15 7 9 
			 2004 3 19 16 4 12 
			 2005 9 13 22 1 5 
			 2006 9 18 53 4 8 
			 2007 6 20 21 12 11 
			 2008 7 16 40 4 18 
			 2009 6 5 30 0 9 
			  Note: When a stoppage has been identified as covering more than one broad industry group, the number of stoppages will be included in all industry groupings that are appropriate.

Public Sector: Community Benefit Clauses

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Government is taking to encourage the use of community benefit clauses in the public sector.

Nick Hurd: Cabinet Office is developing work on the reform of the commissioning process which will look at the opportunity to encourage the building of social value into the purchasing of public services.

Social Enterprises: Tax Allowances

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department takes to encourage social enterprises to adopt a legal model which entitles them to tax relief.

Nick Hurd: The Government are committed to creating an environment in the UK which enables social enterprise to thrive. Social enterprises are business and therefore choose a legal form which best suits their business needs. It is not for government to encourage one legal form over another.
	Social enterprises are often eligible for tax breaks. For example, many are charities and benefit from the associated tax benefit. However, charity tax benefits come with associated regulatory burden which some businesses, CICs and many other social enterprises choose to avoid. More generally, for non-charitable social enterprises, it is also important that Government avoid giving unfair advantage to one type of business over another and maintain a level playing field between different types of organisations trading in the market.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Boxing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the participation of members of the armed forces in boxing; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: Sport, including boxing, makes a vital contribution to fighting spirit, morale, personal development and, therefore, operational effectiveness of the armed forces. It has a wide role and contributes to qualities such as teamwork, leadership, courage and competitive spirit. As a consequence all service personnel are encouraged to participate in the full range of sporting activities.

Armed Forces: Boxing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any members of the armed forces have been injured and rendered unfit for duty  (a) for up to one week,  (b) for up to one month,  (c) for longer than one month and  (d) permanently as a result of their participation in boxing in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: Information relating to reasons for being unfit for duty is not recorded in a format that allows for different forms of sporting activity to be distinguished. In order to determine how many individuals have been injured and/or rendered unfit for duty for any period of time due to boxing, a manual search of records on multiple sites would be required, and this would incur disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Compensation

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with The Royal British Legion to  (a) increase the scope and monetary value of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and  (b) to ensure a similar level of provision under the War Pension scheme in respect of claimants injured before 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: We continue to consult with the Royal British Legion, who were members of the Independent Scrutiny Group, regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the recent review of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) conducted by Admiral The Lord Boyce. We will also continue to engage with other interested groups on issues relating to the AFCS through the Central Advisory Committee on Pensions and Compensation.
	In line with Lord Boyce's recommendation, there are no plans to review the War Pension Scheme provision for injuries before the AFCS was introduced in 2005.

Armed Forces: Drugs

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of each armed service were dismissed for using illegal substances in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: The number of service personnel dismissed for using illegal substances in the last five years is given in the following table. The armed forces drug misuse policy is that the misuse of drugs is inconsistent with service life and our policy can be described as 'zero tolerance'.
	
		
			  Number 
			   Royal Navy/Royal Marines  Army  RAF 
			 2005 49 755 27 
			 2006 59 760 20 
			 2007 66 773 10 
			 2008 74 723 21 
			 2009 58 657 17 
		
	
	These figures do not include dismissals at court martial or summary trial resulting from drug-related offences. To further classify the specific grounds in these cases, i.e. whether the individual actually used illegal substances, would involve scrutiny of individual cases which would incur disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what account his Department takes of  (a) children for whom armed forces personnel do not have full custody,  (b) children of armed forces personnel over the age of 18 years who wish to live with their families and  (c) elderly relatives for whom armed forces personnel wish to care when allocating service families' accommodation.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 13 September 2010
	We take our responsibilities towards families seriously and will consider a range of individual circumstances when determining eligibility for Service Families Accommodation. This includes wider welfare needs such as maintaining contact with children or caring for an elderly relative.
	Children under the age of 25, who are not married and are in full-time education, are considered to remain dependent upon parents and as such generate an entitlement for the parents. Where there are non-dependent young adults we will do all we can to allocate a property to reflect a specific need, but this is subject to availability.

Armed Forces: Housing

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work his Department has undertaken on the Defence Housing Estate at RAF Brize Norton in preparation for the proposed closure of RAF Lyneham.

Andrew Robathan: In anticipation of an increased requirement for accommodation at RAF Brize Norton, work is under way to demolish some 600 service family accommodation properties that are at the end of their serviceable life. We are currently planning to replace these with 788 new build properties.

Armed Forces: Housing

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made on implementing recommendation 1, on strategic review, of the National Audit Office report of Session 2008-09 on Services Families Accommodation, HC 13.

Andrew Robathan: We are currently undertaking a Strategic Defence and Security Review. The outcome will be announced in the autumn after the Government's spending review concludes.

Armed Forces: Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will include in the proposed Military Covenant a commitment to first class accommodation for military personnel and their families.

Andrew Robathan: In our programme for government we stated that we would look at whether there is scope to refurbish armed forces' accommodation from efficiencies within the Ministry of Defence. The ongoing Strategic Defence and Security Review is currently considering the rationalisation and development of future estates and the management of the defence infrastructure in order to address this commitment.

Armed Forces: Housing

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many thefts from  (a) unoccupied and  (b) occupied houses owned by the Ministry of Defence were reported in 2009.

Andrew Robathan: A complete record of thefts from Defence owned houses is not available as a number of these are reported to and therefore held by, local police forces. However, those recorded by the Ministry of Defence Police are as follows:
	 (a) In 2009 there were 96 thefts from unoccupied houses.
	 (b) In 2009 there were 51 thefts from occupied houses.

Armed Forces: Housing

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in respect of which 50 substitute  (a) service family and  (b) single living accommodation properties the highest rents were charged in 2009.

Andrew Robathan: Substitute Service Family Accommodation (SSFA) and Substitute Service Single Accommodation (SSSA) properties may be rented to accommodate Service families and single serving personnel respectively when no suitable Ministry of Defence accommodation is unavailable close or at the duty station. Substitute accommodation is only used as a last resort and often more than one Service person may occupy an SSSA property.
	The 50 most expensive SSSA properties rented during 2009 were as follows:
	
		
			  Location  Monthly rent (£)  Number of occupants 
			 London SW1P 3,275.00 3 
			 London SW1P 3,240.00 3 
			 Slough 3,060.75 5 
			 London SW1P 3,030.00 1 
			 London SW1V 2,814.80 3 
			 London N1 2,550.00 3 
			 Salisbury 2,525.00 4 
			 London SE1 2,513.33 2 
			 London SW6 2,408.33 3 
			 London SW1P 2,408.33 2 
			 Saffron Walden 2,402.50 4 
			 London SWIP 2,384.20 2 
			 London SWIO 2,383.33 1 
			 London SW17 2,371.15 3 
			 London SWIP 2,340.00 2 
			 London SE1 2,331.80 3 
			 London SWIP 2,325.00 3 
			 London SWIP 2,301.25 2 
			 Nottingham 2,300.00 5 
			 London SW6 2,280.25 2 
			 London SWIP 2,275.00 2 
			 London SW8 2,272.00 2 
			 London NW5 2,253.33 1 
			 London SW1P 2,214.75 2 
			 London SE1 2,209.35 2 
			 London E14 2,202.20 2 
			 Bordon 2,200.00 4 
			 London SW11 6,200.00 2 
			 London SWIP 2,200.00 2 
			 Bordon 2,200.00 4 
			 London SWIP 2,195.50 2 
			 London SE1 2,192.33 2 
			 LONDON SWIV 2,192.00 2 
			 London E14 2,191.66 2 
			 London W8 2,191.66 1 
			 London SE1 2,188.33 1 
			 London SW8 2,185.05 2 
			 London SWIP 2,184.00 2 
			 London SWIP 2,182.85 2 
			 London SWIV 2,181.55 2 
			 London SWIV 2,178.50 2 
			 London SWIP 2,177.80 2 
			 London SW9 2,175.65 2 
			 London SWIP 2,173.60 2 
			 London SW11 2,171.60 2 
			 London SWIP 2,170.00 2 
			 London SWIP 2,169.45 2 
			 London SWIP 2,169.45 2 
			 London SW8 2,162.20 2 
			 London SW11 2,162.00 2 
		
	
	The 50 most expensive SSFA properties rented during 2009 were as follows:
	
		
			  Location  Monthly rent (£) 
			 London SW3 6,933.33 
			 London W2 6,000.00 
			 Northwood 4,700.00 
			 Windsor 4,500.00 
			 Gerrards Cross 4,280.00 
			 London SW19 4,117.00 
			 Northwood 4,038.00 
			 London W6 3,900.00 
			 London SW13 3,725.00 
			 London SW6 3,708.33 
			 New Malden 3,700.00 
			 London SW15 3,683.33 
			 London W4 3,575.00 
			 London SW4 3,575.00 
			 London SE10 3,525.00 
			 Great Missenden 3,500.00 
			 Warminster 3,500.00 
			 Windsor 3,500.00 
			 London NW3 3,383.33 
			 London E14 3,298.75 
			 Richmond 3,284.45 
			 London SW6 3,228.33 
			 Banstead 3,225.00 
			 London W4 3,163.33 
			 Richmond 3,152.05 
			 London W4 3,141.66 
			 London SW15 3,126.00 
			 Sevenoaks 3,050.75 
			 London SW11 3,033.33 
			 London SW15 3,025.25 
			 London W4 3,025.00 
			 Princes Risborough 3,000.00 
			 Great Missenden 3,000.00 
			 Camberley 3,000.00 
			 Great Missenden 3,000.00 
			 Romsey 3,000.00 
			 London SW15 3,000.00 
			 Northwood 3,000.00 
			 Great Missenden 2,950.00 
			 Kingston Upon Thames 2,925.00 
			 Burford 2,920.00 
			 Epsom 2,920.00 
			 Aylesbury 2,900.00 
			 Northwood 2,900.00 
			 London SE10 2,900.00 
			 High Wycombe 2,850.00 
			 Epsom 2,850.00 
			 London SW15 2,839.00 
			 London SW6 2,825.00 
			 Windsor 2,800.00

Armed Forces: Medals

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on reviewing the  (a) right of ex-service personnel to wear medals awarded by foreign governments and  (b) practice of retrospective awarding of UK general service medals.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 September 2010,  Official Report, column 172W, to the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell).

Armed Forces: Mental Health

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the effects of loss of limbs in combat on the mental health of soldiers.

Andrew Robathan: We recognise that all battle-injured personnel, including those suffering a traumatic amputation, could be at risk of mental health problems. All operational casualties who are admitted to the Royal Centre of Defence Medicine within the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust have access to a military mental health nurse team. In addition, all trauma survivors, including amputees, who are referred to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court have a mental health assessment as part of their multidisciplinary team admission assessment. Mental health professionals are available to carry out further assessments and provide treatment as required.
	Dr Andrew Murrison MP has been asked by the Prime Minister to carry out a study into the health of service personnel to see what more can be done to meet their needs.

Armed Forces: Prosthetics

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department will undertake a review of the  (a) quality and fit of prosthetic limbs and  (b) level of counselling offered to former service personnel who lose limbs in combat.

Andrew Robathan: Injured UK service personnel who have suffered traumatic amputation as a result of battle or non-battle injury attend the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court in Surrey, where they are supplied with tailor-made prostheses with state of the art componentry which is matched to their clinical needs. Quality and fit of prosthetic limbs are of paramount importance in the rehabilitation process, and as part of the routine clinical care every amputee case at DMRC is regularly assessed for the comfort and fit of their socket, and the alignment and functional quality of all components are checked every time the patient comes to DMRC as either an in-patient or out-patient.
	The Department of Health (DH) and devolved Administrations have agreed that the level for limb fitting support for service personnel should be maintained by the NHS when the individual leaves the service, be it on medical discharge or after completion of their engagement. The DH has advised strategic health authority chief executives of the need to ensure continuity of provision of prostheses subject to the clinical needs of individuals. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has discussed transitional arrangements for seriously injured personnel with key NHS providers for those leaving the armed forces and put in place a protocol to help ensure ease of transfer.
	As part of the overall rehabilitation process, military patients at Headley Court also have access to trained mental health staff, psychologists and social workers who can provide treatment and advice to help them come to terms with their injuries. For amputees who are leaving the services and are assessed as requiring ongoing counselling, arrangements will be made for them to receive this through the NHS as part of the transfer of medical care. Transition protocols between MOD and DH have been developed and are aimed at ensuring an effective transfer of care from MOD to the NHS and other providers.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on replacing the ceremonial uniforms of the  (a) Grenadier Guards,  (b) Coldstream Guards,  (c) Scots Guards,  (d) Irish Guards and  (e) Welsh Guards in each of the last 13 years.

Peter Luff: The expenditure over the last six financial years for replacing ceremonial uniforms, including hats, boots, belts, jackets, trousers and gloves, is provided in the following table. The expenditure for earlier financial years is no longer held.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Guard regiment  FY 2004-05  FY 2005-06  FY 2006-07  FY 2007-08  FY 2008-09  FY 2009-10 
			 Grenadier Guards 154,000 38,000 170,000 349,000 282,000 86,000 
			 Coldstream Guards 56,000 151,000 290,000 146,000 188,000 35,000 
			 Scots Guards 45,000 28,000 172,000 69,000 185,000 37,000 
			 Irish Guards 330,000 33,000 172,000 114,000 872,000 61,000 
			 Welsh Guards 11,000 129,000 163,000 109,000 86,000 78,000

Armed Offices: Driving

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel in each service were trained as drivers in each of the last five years for which figures are available; how many in each such year were trained by  (a) military personnel and  (b) private driving schools; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: Information on the number of trained drivers is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the number of driving licences that have been issued to armed forces personnel as a result of centralised training by the Defence School of Transport, training in individual units across the UK and Germany and as a result of Urgent Operational Requirements is recorded. This information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Trained by  Originating service  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 MOD staff (military or civil servants) RN/RM 1,097 1,051 1,991 1,768 1,455 
			  Army 9,876 10,021 10,120 10,291 8,185 
			  RAF 1,535 1,374 1,346 1,616 1,466 
			  Total 12,508 12,446 13,457 13,675 11,106 
			
			 Contracted Driver Training RN/RM 241 676 183 315 269 
			  Army 6,636 6,981 6,375 6,274 6,916 
			  RAF 98 8 99 192 119 
			  Total 6,975 7,665 6,657 6,781 7,304 
			
			 Urgent Operational Requirement All services 0 1,092 921 2,081 2,240 
		
	
	An individual may hold more than one licence, for example, a soldier must first hold a Category B driving licence before obtaining their Category C licence (Long Goods Vehicle).

Army: Horses

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse was of maintaining horses in the Army in 2009-10.

Andrew Robathan: This information is not held in the format requested, and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Commonwealth: Armed Forces

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many servicemen from other Commonwealth countries  (a) are serving in the UK armed forces and  (b) have served in the UK armed forces in (i) the last 10 years and (ii) the last five years; and what estimate he has made of likely future trends in these numbers.

Andrew Robathan: As at 1 July 2010, there were 8,470 service personnel who are citizens of Commonwealth countries. It is not possible to ascertain without disproportionate cost the numbers of Commonwealth service personnel who have served in the last five or in the last 10 years. However, as at 1 April 2000 and 1 April 2005, there were 820 and 6,040 Commonwealth personnel respectively in the Army. Figures for the Naval Service and RAF are not available as their legacy database systems do not enable the distinction to be made between Commonwealth citizens and other non-British nationals. There has been no estimate of future trends in the recruitment of Commonwealth citizens.

Cyprus

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether all the land occupied by his Department's facilities in Cyprus is classed as sovereign British territory.

Andrew Robathan: No, not all the land occupied by the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) facilities in Cyprus is classed as sovereign British territory. Under the 1960 Treaty of Establishment (ToE) the United Kingdom retained British sovereignty over two areas, one in the south (Akrotiri) and the other in the east (Dhekelia), which are known collectively as the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs). In addition, the MOD has facilities on several 'retained sites'. The ToE gives the UK rights on these sites, although the Republic of Cyprus has sovereignty over the territory on which the retained sites are located.

Departmental Television and Film

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) television programmes and  (b) feature films were filmed at locations owned by his Department in 2009.

Andrew Robathan: Film and television programme makers regularly use Ministry of Defence (MOD) locations, personnel and equipment in their productions.
	Using MOD assets is of benefit to the MOD by providing positive public relations and income.
	A list of locations used in 2009 for non-news programmes and films that have involved the central RN, Army and RAF Public Relations branches is shown in the following table. Records of requests to film for news purposes are not held centrally.
	In addition, programme makers can approach individual establishments for commercial filming using www. fllmlocations.mod.uk. The MOD does not hold a central record of all such activity and the information required could be provided at only disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Table 1 - Public relations TV/Filming 
			  Title  Company  MOD Location 
			  Royal Navy:   
			 Ross Kemp on Pirates Sky One/Tiger Aspect HMS Northumberland 
			 Chaplains at War Ch 4/Darlow Smithson Units in Afghanistan 
			 Highland Emergency 2 Ch 5/Granada HMS Gannett 
			 Warship 2 Ch 5/Granada HMS Bulwark 
			 Empire of the Seas BBC2 - 
			 Sea Patrol Ch 5/Wall To Wall HMS Severn 
			 Khumbu Challenge Sky One/Uppercut - 
			 T45 Ch4/ITN Type 45 Destroyer 
			 Astute BB2/BBC in-house Astute Submarine 
			 Chris Barrie's Age of the Machine National Geographic/Gamma Project 815 NAS, RNAS Yeovilton 
			 Bang goes the Theory BBC1 RNAS Yeovilton 
			 Engineering Connections BBC/Darlow Smithson HMS Illustrious 
			 The Boats That Built Britain BBC4/Form Films HMS Bulwark 
			  Army:   
			 Road Warriors TV1 TwoFour Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 Frontline Battle Machines Discovery School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Bordon, Defence School of Transport Leconfield, Defence Training Estate (DTE) Lulworth, RAF Odiham, DTE Standford, RAF Wattisham, DTE Salisbury Plain, RAF Brize Norton, RAF Lyneham, 40 Commando Taunton 
			 Scots at War STV Fort George and Redforth Barracks 
			 Location, Location, Location C4 Army Training Regiment Winchester 
			 The Restaurant BBC2 13 Air Assault Support Regiment Royal Logistics Corps, Melville Barracks, Colchester 
			 Pearson Education DVD 1410 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 
			 Safe Drive Stay Alive Surrey Fire and Rescue 25 Training Regiment Royal Logistics Corps, Deepcut 
			 Army Girls Alba TV Cameron Barracks, Inverness 
			 The Queen's Horses ARD TV Windsor Barracks, Hyde Park Barracks, St John's Wood Barracks, Knightsbridge Barracks, Horseguards 
			 Top Gear BBC2 DTE Bovington 
			 Out of the Frying Pan BBC2 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 
			 Wounded BBC - 
			 Fighting Passions C4 Infantry Training Centre (Catterick) 
			 Great British Menu BBC DTE Catterick and Scotland 
			 Seven Ages of Britain BBC Royal School of Mechanical Engineering, Chatham 
			 Girls on the Frontline BBC3 Maghralavie Barracks, Lisburn 
			 Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo ITVI Windsor Barracks and Knightsbridge Barracks 
			 Scots Guards Band CBBC Wellington Barracks 
			  RAF:   
			 Coast BBC RAF Digby's School 
			 Highland Emergency Ch5 RAF Lossiemouth 
			 Sea Patrol National Geographic/Ch 5 Search and Rescue Detachment Wattisham 
			 Forces Reunited Sky Real Lives RAF Valley and Leeming 
			 Seven Wonders of the Solar System BBC RAF Henlow 
			 Training the Paras BBC Blue Peter RAF Brize Norton 
			 Battle of Britain with David Jason ITV RAF Coningsby 
			 Trawlers Rigs and Rescue Virgin 1 SARDets Leconfield, RAF Boulmer and Wattisham 
			 Front Line Battle Machines Discovery RAF Brize Norton and Odiham 
			 Flog.it BBC RAF Halton 
			 Myths of UFOs BBC RAF Fylingdales 
			 Genius of Britain C4 RAF Boulmer and Boscombe Down 
			 Bang goes the theory BBC RAF Cranwell and Valley 
			 "Special Dogs" - One Show BBC RAF Valley 
			 Songs of Praise BBC RAF Valley 
			 Blitz street C4 RAF Spadeadam and Wittering 
			 Flying Hospital C4 RAF Brize Norton and Lyneham 
			 Paul O'Grady Show C4 RAF Scampton 
			 Great British Menu - RAF Coningsby and Halton 
			 Air Force Afghanistan Ch5 RAF Cottesmore 
			 Coast BBC RAF Valley 
			 Foyles War ITV RAF Halton 
			 The Kings Speech - RAF Halton 
			 Cosi - RAF Halton

Elizabeth Cross

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Elizabeth Crosses have been presented to date; and how many were in respect of  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan.

Andrew Robathan: As at 10 September 2010, 1,862 Elizabeth Crosses have been issued to the eligible next of kin of deceased service personnel who have died on operations, or as a result of an act of terrorism. 155 were issued in respect of Iraq and 299 in respect of Afghanistan.

Germany

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people employed by his Department in Germany are  (a) UK citizens and ( b) non-UK citizens.

Andrew Robathan: The numbers of UK citizens and non-UK citizens employed in Germany by the Ministry of Defence are shown in the following table. These are civilian employees only.
	
		
			   Number 
			 UK citizens 4,335 
			 Non-UK citizens 3,564

Germany: Armed Forces

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many children of British military personnel who are  (a) under 10 years old and  (b) between 10 and 18-years-old are being educated in Germany.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is currently educating 5,052 children under 10-years-old and 2,313 children between the ages of 10 and 18 in its schools in Germany. It is not possible to split these numbers between children of military personnel and those of UK-based civilians. Not all parents choose to educate their children within the MOD school system.
	The schools also educate the children of MOD contractors and some local community children on a fee-paying basis. In addition to the numbers above there are currently 61 children under 10 years old, and 38 children aged between 10 and 18 being educated on this basis.

Germany: Armed Forces

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Air Force and  (c) Royal Navy personnel are based in Germany.

Nick Harvey: The number of military personnel based in Germany is shown in the following table broken down by service.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Army 17,743 
			 Royal Air Force 171 
			 Royal Navy 18

Gibraltar

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people employed by his Department in Gibraltar are  (a) UK citizens and  (b) non-UK citizens.

Nick Harvey: The information is not held in the format requested.
	The numbers of civilian staff employed by British Forces Gibraltar on 3 September 2010 were as follows:
	
		
			  Civilian staff type  Number 
			 UK based civilians 60 
			 Locally engaged civilians 690 
			 of whom:  
			 Spanish and Moroccan 45 
			 Other nationalities 10 
		
	
	There are also a number of civilians employed through Defence contracts, the numbers and nationalities of whom are not held centrally.

Inside Right Programme

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of progress of the Inside Right programme; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence welcomes the Inside Right programme run by the Football Foundation, and has offered financial support over a three year period. An initial progress report is expected in March 2011 at the end of the first year of the scheme.

Military Covenant

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to bring forward legislation to enshrine the military covenant in law.

Andrew Robathan: Rebuilding the Military Covenant is one of the most important objectives of this Government. We are currently considering how best to fulfil the Covenant in terms of resource allocation, policies and legislation.

Military Covenant

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultation his Department has undertaken on re-writing the military covenant; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: As part of its commitment to rebuild the Military Covenant, we are planning to refresh and rewrite the Covenant itself. Consultation is now getting under way and will include both internal and external representatives of the armed forces community.

Military Exercises

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions military personnel undertook training exercises at each site outside the UK between 2008 and 2010.

Nick Harvey: From 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2010, United Kingdom armed forces personnel conducted, or contributed to, some 480 training exercises of varying size and scale, and covering a range of military activities, at overseas locations.

Military Exercises

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the average annual cost to the public purse of sending military personnel to train at his Department's bases and affiliated sites in Scotland.

Nick Harvey: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Military Exercises

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the average annual cost to the public purse of sending military personnel to sites outside the UK to undertake training exercises.

Nick Harvey: The total costs of exercises and training conducted outside the UK are known, but the specific costs of sending military personnel participating in these activities are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Roads: Accidents

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces were  (a) killed,  (b) seriously injured and  (c) slightly injured in road accidents when (i) on duty and (ii) off duty in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: The following tables provide information on the numbers of armed forces personnel killed (Table 1), seriously injured (Table 2) and slightly injured (Table 3) both on and off duty.
	
		
			  Table 1: Road accident deaths in the UK regular armed forces, by duty status and year 
			  Number 
			   All  On duty  Off duty  Under investigation 
			 All 208 36 171 1 
			 2005 52 7 45 0 
			 2006 57 8 49 0 
			 2007 47 12 35 0 
			 2008 25 7 18 0 
			 2009 27 2 24 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Road accident serious injuries in the UK regular armed forces, by duty status and year 
			  Number 
			   All  On duty  Off duty  Duty status unknown 
			 All 226 48 115 63 
			 2005 6 - 0 - 
			 2006 51 11 21 19 
			 2007 69 16 29 24 
			 2008 42 - 25 - 
			 2009 58 - 40 - 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Road accident slight injuries in the UK regular armed forces, by duty status and year 
			  Number 
			   All  On duty  Off duty  Duty status unknown 
			 All 340 131 84 125 
			 2005 37 - 0 - 
			 2006 89 34 21 34 
			 2007 102 63 20 19 
			 2008 66 21 21 24 
			 2009 46 - 22 - 
			  Note: All numbers fewer than five have been suppressed. Where there is only one cell in a row or column that is fewer than five, the next smallest number has also been suppressed so that numbers cannot be derived from totals.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage people to take up his Department's funding for additional apprenticeship places in 2010-11.

John Hayes: We know that the demand from young people and adults for good quality employer-owned apprenticeships is high and the Government are committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships, in particular, advanced apprenticeships that confer technician status. The Government's decision to redeploy £150 million of our savings for 2010-11, creating an additional 50,000 adult apprenticeship places, demonstrates our commitment to high-quality skills. The National Apprenticeships Service and the Skills Funding Agency are working with training providers which will be encouraging employers to make these additional places available. This investment in our future will help train the next generation, as well as developing the existing work force, which is vital to build a modern advanced economy.

Broadband: Kent

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans his Department has to roll out superfast broadband to the rural and hot-spot areas in Chatham and Aylesford constituency, with particular reference to Wouldham and Larkfield.

Edward Vaizey: The Government have stated that they want to see superfast broadband rolled out in rural areas of the UK at the same time as more heavily populated areas. The market is already rolling out superfast broadband to around two-thirds of the population. We intend to support this through a combination of regulatory and public policy measures, and Government financial support, beginning with three pilot projects which we hope to announce soon.

Cabinet Committees: Trade

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who will chair the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Trade.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 14 September 2010
	The coalition Government reviewed the Cabinet committee system on entering office to make it more efficient. Where individual trade policy issues arise, they are considered by the relevant committee, such as Economic Affairs, European Affairs or the National Security Council.

Construction: Industry

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints from the public his Department has received about building firms in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Department does not hold centrally the information in the format requested and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Construction: Industry

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints  (a) his Department and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies have received from the public about (i) Strategy Insurance Limited, (ii) the Federation of Master Builders and (iii) Homeland Construction in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: A search of the records database indicated that the Department has in the last five years received two complaints in respect of the Federation of Master Builders and none in respect of either Strategy Insurance Ltd. or Homeland Construction.
	In respect of the Department's non-departmental public bodies: the Department does not hold centrally the information in the format requested and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Debts: Advisory Services

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of debt advice in respect of the most vulnerable people funded from  (a) the Financial Inclusion Fund and  (b) legal aid funds;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of government-funded debt advice; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The majority of research into the effectiveness of debt advice has focused on free debt advice. The results show a very positive picture.
	The National Audit Office research, carried out over 18 months from the summer of 2008 showed that nearly everyone (95%) given advice under the Face-to-Face Debt Advice project run by BIS had acted on it and that the great majority (81%) had assessed it as improving their situation. We were pleased to note that their February report for this year concluded that the project was "delivering good value for money".
	In respect of legal aid funds, that is the responsibility for the Ministry of Justice to assess the effectiveness of their programmes.

Debts: Advisory Services

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the number of Citizens Advice Bureau caseworkers provided for from the Financial Inclusion Fund.

Edward Davey: It is difficult to provide a precise estimate.
	Most of the 16 projects that make up the BIS Face-to-Face Debt Advice project include a mix of caseworkers from Citizens Advice Bureaux and from other debt advice agencies.
	The total number of caseworkers employed across the advice community is around 500.

Debts: Advisory Services

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people received debt advice provided for from the Financial Inclusion Fund in each of the last five years.

Edward Davey: In each of the last five years, the number of individuals receiving debt advice from the Face-to-Face Debt Advice project funded via the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) is as follows.
	
		
			  Financial years  Number 
			 2006/07 26,567 
			 2007/08 92,635 
			 2008/09 100,968 
			 2009/10 105,155 
			 2010 to 30 June 26,442 
			 Total 351,767 
		
	
	The Debt Advice in Prisons project run by the Legal Service Commission is also funded from FIF, but we do not have total figures for the number of clients advised under that project.

Employment Tribunals Service

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to streamline the employment tribunal system.

Edward Davey: As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Universities and Science told the House on 3 June 2010,  Official Report, column 564, my officials are considering calls from interested parties for changes to be made to the employment tribunal system so as to streamline the process. I will make an announcement on what action I propose to take to address these issues in due course.

Further Education: England

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from England began attending further education colleges in Wales in each of the last five years.

John Hayes: Data for students attending further education in colleges in Wales is not collected by this Department.
	Information on FE colleges is published by the National Assembly for Wales in the Further Education, Work-based Learning and Community Learning in Wales Statistics, 2007/08 publication:
	http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/headlines/post16education2010/100422/?lang=en

Further Education: Wales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from Wales began attending further education colleges in England in each of the last five years.

John Hayes: Table 1 shows FE participation of learners, whose home address is in Wales, studying in General Further Education Colleges and all Government funded learners in Further Education in England, 2004/05 to 2008/09, the latest year for which full year data is available. This data excludes learners who have moved from Wales in order to attend a Government funded FE provider in England.
	
		
			  Table 1: FE participation of learners from Wales in General Further Education Colleges and all FE provision in England from 2004/05 to 2008/09 
			   General FE College  All FE provision 
			 2004/05 6,400 7,300 
			 2005/06 5,800 6,700 
			 2006/07 3,900 4,700 
			 2007/08 4,200 4,900 
			 2008/09 3,600 4,200 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Figures for 2008/09 are not directly comparable with earlier years due to a change in funding methodology. 3. Geographic information is based upon the home postcode of the learner. 4. Further Education Provision includes General Further Education Colleges including Tertiary, Sixth Form Colleges, Special College-Agricultural and Horticultural Colleges and Art and Design Colleges, Specialist Colleges and External Institutions.  Source: Individualised Learner Record

Further Education: Wrexham

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from Wrexham began attending further education colleges in England in each of the last five years.

John Hayes: Table 1 shows FE participation of learners, whose home address is in Wrexham, studying in General Further Education Colleges and all Government funded learners in FE in England from 2004/05 to 2008/09, the latest year for which full year data is available. This data excludes learners who have moved from Wrexham in order to attend a Government funded FE provider in England.
	Data for 2005/06 onwards are based on geographic boundaries as of May 2010. The figure for 2004/05 is based on an earlier geographic boundary therefore the figure for 2004/05 is not directly comparable to later years.
	
		
			  Table 1: FE participation of learners from Wrexham local authority in General Further Education Colleges and all FE provision in England from 2004/05 to 2008/09 
			   General FE College  All FE provision 
			 2004/05 900 900 
			 2005/06 900 900 
			 2006/07 500 600 
			 2007/08 500 600 
			 2008/09 400 500 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. The figure for 2004/05 is not directly comparable to later years as it is based on a different geographic boundary. 3. Figures for 2008/09 are not directly comparable with earlier years due to a change in funding methodology. 4. Local authority data is based upon the home postcode of the learner. 5. Further Education Provision includes General Further Education Colleges including Tertiary, Sixth Form Colleges, Special College-Agricultural and Horticultural Colleges and Art and Design Colleges, Specialist Colleges and External Institutions.  Source: Individualised Learner Record

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to reply to the letter of 1 June 2010 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Eleanor Massey, transferred from the Department of Work and Pensions.

Edward Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills responded to this letter 14 September 2010.

Regional Development Agencies: Local Enterprise Partnerships

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the  (a) capital and  (b) annual running costs of (i) regional development agencies and (ii) local economic partnerships.

Edward Davey: The information is as follows:
	(i) The programme budgets given to the regional development agencies (RDAs) for 2010-11 are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  RDA  Budget (a)  Of which: administration costs (b) 
			 Advantage West Midlands 163 22 
			 East of England Development Agency 78 15 
			 East Midlands Development Agency 95 17 
			 London Development Agency 275 37 
			 North West Development Agency 234 34 
			 One NorthEast 186 25 
			 South East England Development Agency 96 20 
			 South West of England Regional Development Agency 115 21 
			 Yorkshire Forward 174 22 
		
	
	(ii) No estimate has been made yet of the capital and annual running costs of the local economic partnerships (LEPs).

Unemployment: Young People

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people aged  (a) between 16 and 24 and  (b) between 18 and 24 years resident in Milton Keynes are not in education, employment or training.

John Hayes: The following table shows the number and proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds(1)( )Milton Keynes local authority in 2009 not in education, employment or training.
	(1) Age used is respondents academic age, which is defined as their age at the preceding 31 August.
	
		
			  Milton Keynes  Number/proportion 
			 Number 5,000 
			 Percentage of all 16 to 24-year-olds 17 
			 95% confidence interval +/-7% 
		
	
	This information is from the Annual Population Survey, which covers the period January to December of each year, with 2009 being the most recent estimate available. The Annual Population Survey is the only available source of data with a sample large enough to provide local authority estimates of the number of young people up to the age of 24 who are NEET. However, the sample is not large enough to provide estimates for smaller geographies, such as parliamentary constituencies, or to provide local authority estimates for age ranges narrower than 16 to 24.
	It is important to note that these estimates are subject to large sampling variability and should therefore be treated with caution and viewed in conjunction with their confidence intervals, which indicate how accurate an estimate is. In this example, a confidence interval of +/-7 percentage points means that the true estimate is between 10% and 24% in 95% of instances.
	Quarterly estimates of the number of people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) derived from the Labour Force Survey are published by the Department for Education. The latest publication can be found online at
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/index.shtml
	This includes supplementary tables giving breakdowns of 18 to 24-year-olds NEET for each region.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Overseas Aid

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on  (a) administration,  (b) logistics and transport,  (c) food items,  (d) non-food items and  (e) other items in respect of the provision of immediate assistance in humanitarian situations in Africa in each of the last three years.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) spent the following amounts on logistics (including transport), food items, non-food items and other items for humanitarian assistance in Africa in the last three financial years for which figures are available. Aggregated administration costs for implementing partners are not available, but are typically between 7% and 13% of the total costs of delivery of assistance.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Food  Logistics  Non-food items  Other  Total DFID humanitarian funding 
			 2008-09 67,787,000 9,319,000 9,781,000 178,772,000 265,659,000 
			 2007-08 39,447,000 9,806,000 8,800,000 147,419,000 205,472,000 
			 2006-07 52,523,000 10,015,000 7,846,000 166,158,000 236,542,000 
			  Source: DFID Africa Humanitarian Spend Analyses 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Africa: Overseas Aid

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on immediate assistance in respect of humanitarian situations in Africa in each of the last three years; and how much such funding was disbursed  (a) as part of a programme directly delivered by his Department,  (b) by multilateral organisations,  (c) by non-governmental organisations and  (d) through budgetary support given to host governments in each such year.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) provided the following amounts in respect of humanitarian situations in Africa through multilateral organisations, the Red Cross, non-government organisations (NGOs) and bilateral aid to country governments, for the last three financial years for which figures are available. Immediate assistance is not provided through budgetary support to governments.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Multilateral organisations  Red Cross  NGOs  Bilateral aid to country governments  Total DFID humanitarian funding 
			 2008-09 195,012,000 23,544,000 46,981,000 122,000 265,659,000 
			 2007-08 116,637,000 19,866,000 68,969,000 0 205,472,000 
			 2006-07 169,877,000 16,598,000 50,067,000 0 236,542,000 
			  Source: DFID Africa Humanitarian Spend Analyses 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Africa: Overseas Aid

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on  (a) tarpaulins and tents,  (b) mosquito nets,  (c) blankets,  (d) kitchen sets,  (e) hygiene/first aid kits,  (f) water purification products,  (g) buckets and other water carriers and  (h) stoves for immediate use in humanitarian situations in Africa in each of the last three years.

Alan Duncan: The requested information cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Africa: Overseas Aid

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the annual monetary value is of the contract held by his Department with Crown Agents in respect of the delivery of emergency and humanitarian relief services; and what proportion of that amount was spent on projects in Africa in each of the last three years.

Alan Duncan: The annual monetary value of the contract held by the Department for International Development (DFID) with Crown Agents for emergency and humanitarian relief services is £1,855,200. None of this amount has been spent on projects in Africa in the last three years, The contracted services have been used extensively during the last three years in DFID responses to disasters in Myanmar, Indonesia, Haiti, Pakistan and elsewhere.

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions each Minister in his Department has met his Department's Chief Scientific Officer since 6 May 2010.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development's (DFID's) chief scientific adviser has met with the Secretary of State seven times, the Minister of State once and has had nine meetings with myself, since the 6 May 2010.

Departmental Empty Property

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on vacant properties in each year since 1997.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not spent anything on vacant properties in the UK from 1997 to the present date. DFID has had no vacant properties in the UK during this period.
	The requested information cannot be provided for DFID's overseas properties without incurring disproportionate cost. DFID has not hitherto held central records of our overseas estates. We are currently in the process of developing a central information management system that will capture this information.

Developing Countries: Poverty

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to assist developing country authorities in the collection of poverty data classified by indigenous and other ethnic groups.

Stephen O'Brien: The collection of poverty data plays an important role in efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The Department for International Development (DFID) already provides considerable support to developing countries in this area, and is the largest bilateral donor to statistical capacity building. The Department works directly with national authorities in country, and through international agencies (including the World Bank, and United Nations) to support the collection of reliable and relevant data, including poverty data disaggregated by indigenous and other ethnics groups.

Overseas Aid: Pneumonia

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department has allocated to tackling pneumonia in each of the last five years.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not provide targeted funds for tackling pneumonia to developing countries. DFID supports work on tackling pneumonia through our support to the health sector, but we do not monitor the proportion of this support used specifically for this purpose. UK aid is increasing the capacity of health systems to diagnose and treat all major causes of illness, including pneumonia, through our support to national health systems, international partnerships and organisations and research.

World Health Assembly: Pneumonia

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to implement the World Health Assembly resolution on pneumonia; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) aims to ensure sustainable control and management of pneumonia, and other infectious diseases, by strengthening country's health services and their capacity to deliver interventions such as prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In addition to increasing the quality and supply of services, DFID works closely with governments and other partners to make sure that these services reach the poor and vulnerable. We provide support for this through our country programmes, and through our funding to multilateral organisations and global funding instruments such as the World Bank, and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
	DFID supports the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) to deliver vaccination programmes and the pneumococcal Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which provides an incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop and manufacture a pneumococcal vaccine that is highly effective in developing countries. As with all multilateral aid, this commitment is being assessed under the Multilateral Aid Review.
	DFID is also developing a business plan to accelerate its work on maternal and newborn health, including exclusive breast feeding, maternal nutrition and the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what targets he has for rollout of superfast broadband; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much funding for superfast broadband he estimates will be provided from  (a) the television licence fee and  (b) the landline levy;
	(3)  what plans he has for a review of business rates for telecommunications networks; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  in which year he expects 90 per cent. of UK households to be within reach of next generation broadband;
	(5)  how much funding he plans to allocate to support universal access to basic broadband in each financial year from 2012-13 to 2014-15;
	(6)  how much funding he has allocated to each of the three pilots of superfast broadband to take place in the next three years;
	(7)  in which financial year he expects funding from the television licence fee to be first available for provision of superfast broadband.

Edward Vaizey: The Government have set a clear target that the UK should have the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015. We intend to achieve this first through public policy and regulatory interventions and then if needed public spending. We have made no specific estimate of when 90% coverage will be reached.
	Business rates for telecommunications networks are set by the independent Valuation Office Agency (VOA). I welcome the recent publication by the VOA of new guidance on the rating of telecommunications networks, which should make the rating system more transparent.
	£200 million from the Digital Switchover help scheme underspend will be set aside to deliver the USC and superfast pilots. The locations and exact allocation to each area will be announced in due course. A guideline would be an average public sector subsidy of £5-10 million per project.
	We have made clear that we will consider use of a proportion of the TV licence fee in the next settlement period (2013-18) to fund investment in superfast broadband. The amount dedicated to superfast broadband, if any, will be decided in the overall consideration of the licence fee and informed by the condition of the market.

Broadband

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much he estimates the previous Government's policy of providing universal access to basic broadband by 2012 was underfunded;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of mobile services to delivering universal 1 Mbps broadband.

Edward Vaizey: We estimate the cost of meeting the Universal Service Commitment would be at least double the funds identified by the previous administration and discussions with industry indicate that the shortfall may be even greater.
	Broadband Delivery UK continues to assess the role of mobile services in meeting the Universal Service Commitment, but has yet to draw conclusions. We expect that a range of solutions-fixed and wireless (including satellite)-will be required to meet broadband objectives.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in his Department in July 2010.

John Penrose: All expenditure on hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance, based on the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
	Hospitality was provided for one event in July. The breakdown of this event is as shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Minister  Event  Cost (£) 
			 Ed Vaizey Official function 70

Film: Finance

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will take steps to encourage the production of films by British producers funded from sources based in Britain; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Government are committed to supporting the UK film industry and the two key mechanisms that currently support the film industry-the film tax relief and the dedicated pot of Lottery funding-are here to stay. Due to the changes we are making to the National Lottery, funding for film will increase In 2011, and again in 2012.
	We are currently reassessing how the Government can best support the UK film industry because important challenges are yet to be addressed. We need a stronger, more sustainable film industry, where better capitalised production companies can build on their successes rather than remain partly reliant on public subsidy. We need a coherent strategy to ensure that talent can emerge from across the UK. And we need a more transparent framework that avoids duplication, delivers targeted funding, and reduces regulatory burdens and administrative costs.
	We are engaging with the industry to discuss how best we can achieve these objectives, where public funding could best make a difference, and where private funding could contribute.

Newspaper Press

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will bring forward proposals to require UK-based newspapers owned by people not resident in the UK to display on each issue the name of the country of residence of the newspaper owner.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply.
	No. It is entirely reasonable for people of any nationality, and based anywhere in the world, to invest in UK newspapers just as it is reasonable for UK nationals and those resident in the UK to invest in newspaper and other businesses abroad. A discriminatory measure of the sort proposed would in any case raise issues of compatibility with EU law.

Sports

James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the total cost to the public purse is of the Talent Identification Programme operated by UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport.

Hugh Robertson: The Talent Identification Programme delivered by UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport (EIS) in partnership with National Governing Bodies was established in 2007, and the first UK Talent Strategy was produced in 2009 following a series of trial talent campaigns.
	The strategy will be implemented over the London cycle, 2009-13, and talent campaigns are now deemed a core element of the World Class Performance Programme.
	The total exchequer costs incurred by UK Sport in respect of the UK Talent Programme are £835,737 as detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Programme spend on UK Talent Programme  Staff costs for UK Talent Programme 
			 2007-08 449 61,081 
			 2008-09 10,327 106,267 
			 2009-10 515,296 142,317 
			 Total 526,072 309,665 
			  Source: UK Sport 
		
	
	As a full partner in the UK Talent Programme, EIS allocated part of its core funding received from UK Sport to deliver programme activity.
	Since 2007 the number of specialists in the field of talent identification has had to increase to match the scope of, and demand for the programme.
	The total exchequer costs incurred by EIS in respect of the UK Talent Programme are £770,978 as detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Programme spend on UK Talent Programme  Staff costs for UK Talent Programme 
			 2007-08 49,682 66,553 
			 2008-09 57,659 76,883 
			 2009-10 83,244 127,292 
			 Total 500,250 270,728 
			  Source: EIS 
		
	
	The total cost to the public purse of the UK Talent Programme is £1,606,715.

Swimming: Concessions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department estimates will be saved by ending the free swimming scheme for children under 16-years-old; what the marginal cost to the public purse was of operating the scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: A total of £25,951,788 from the £40 million resource funding allocated for 2010-11 has been saved by ending the Free Swimming Programme for the under 16s and over 60s.
	An additional £25 million of capital funding allocated for the programme in 2010-11 has also been saved.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Prime Minister what declarations of  (a) interests,  (b) gifts and  (c) hospitality were made by special advisers based in No. 10 Downing street in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

David Cameron: This Government are committed to publishing on a quarterly basis details of gifts and hospitality received by special advisers. Information for the period 13 May to 31 July 2010 will be published as soon as it is ready.
	Information for previous years was not routinely published.

Departmental Offices

Bob Russell: To ask the Prime Minister what percentage of his Office's office accommodation he has offered to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport as office accommodation for staff of that Department; and when he expects such office accommodation to become available.

John Penrose: I have been asked to reply.
	No space has been offered by the Prime Minister to the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport as office accommodation for DCMS staff.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Polling Station: Fraud

Graham Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government has to introduce a requirement to provide proof of identification at polling stations to help eliminate voter fraud.

Mark Harper: The Government are committed to ensuring the integrity of the electoral process and tackling fraud wherever it arises. We are considering how best to do that and our approach will take into account wider reforms to registration and voting processes. In particular, the Government's plan to accelerate the introduction of individual voter registration will help protect against fraud by improving the accuracy of the electoral register.

Voting Methods

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will bring forward proposals to restrict voting in the House of Commons on matters exclusively relating to England to hon. Members who represent constituencies in England.

Mark Harper: The Coalition programme for government includes a specific commitment to establish a Commission to consider the issues raised by the present ability of MPs from the devolved territories to vote on matters for which the devolved Parliament and Assemblies have responsibility.

HEALTH

Abortion: Health Education

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues on the presentation of information about abortion services in GP clinics.

Anne Milton: The Department has not issued any guidance on the presentation of information about abortion services in general practitioner (GP) practices.
	Providing high-quality information and advice, including written information, is an important aspect of care received by women considering an abortion. GPs should ensure that women considering a termination are equipped with appropriate information, as well as talking through all available options.

Abortion: Human Rights

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the General Medical Council on guidance to medical practitioners on conscientious objection to abortion and the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Anne Milton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with the General Medical Council (GMC) on conscientious objection to abortion.
	The Abortion Act 1967 (as amended) makes provision for conscientious objection, allowing medical practitioners to make a decision not to participate in treatment authorised by the Abortion Act.
	Medical practitioners that are ethically opposed to abortion should follow relevant professional guidance. The GMC's current guidance is clear that medical practitioners must not allow any personal views to prejudice their assessment of clinical need, or restrict patient access to care.
	The Government consider the Abortion Act to be compatible with the Human Rights Act 1998.

Cancer: Drugs

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the interim regional panels for cancer treatment will be able to take decisions on the provision of drugs relating to exceptional case requests.

Simon Burns: We have made it clear in guidance issued to strategic health authorities by the National Health Service Medical Director that existing primary care trust funding routes should be adequately explored before a call is made on strategic health authority funds. A copy of this guidance is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/DH_117996

Cancer: Hertfordshire

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of patients in Hertfordshire likely to be prescribed with innovative cancer drugs in  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) 2011-12 following the establishment of the interim Cancer Drug Fund.

Simon Burns: The Department has no plans to make such estimates. We will consult shortly on plans for the establishment of the cancer drugs fund from April 2011 so that patients, clinicians and the wider national health service can input into its design.

Colic: Osteopathy

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the use of osteopathy to treat infant colic.

Anne Milton: The Department received two letters from a member of public in August 2010 and we replied with the following:
	Some health professionals apply chiropractic spinal manipulation for treating infant colic. However, a recent review of chiropractic spinal manipulation for infantile colic by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination accessible through NHS Evidence states the available evidence failed to demonstrate the effectiveness of spinal manipulation in infantile colic.

Community Hospitals: Finance

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the Community Hospital Fund was unspent at the time of the 2010 General Election; whether that money has been carried forward; by what means community hospitals can obtain funding for new build projects; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Department earmarked approximately £250 million over five years through the Community Hospitals Programme Fund. We expect the national health service will use around £225 million of this across 27 schemes. Some of the primary care trusts (PCTs) that were allocated funding were unable to spend it, either because there were unforeseen delays to developing the project, or in one case because the PCT decided that their original plans were no longer the best solution for the local community.
	The final schemes are due to complete in 2011-12 and the Department is taking these into account as part of the work to inform the current spending review.
	For new community hospitals, arrangements for capital funding will be informed by the responses to the White Paper consultation.

General Practitioners

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to place restrictions on the nature of contracts into which primary care trusts may enter in the interim period prior to the implementation of GP commissioning.

Simon Burns: Primary care trusts (PCTs) use national health service standard contracts when commissioning services from most providers. The Department is developing proposals to ensure the smooth transition of contracts from PCTs to general practitioner (GP) commissioning consortia.

General Practitioners

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures will be used to transfer assets of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to GP consortia.

Simon Burns: The White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', which was published on 12 July 2010, announced that strategic health authorities will be abolished and primary care trusts and practice-based commissioners will be replaced by general practitioner consortia.
	Arrangements for the future ownership and management of their operational and administrative estates will be announced in due course.

General Practitioners: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanism he plans to introduce for the allocation of funds by NHS commissioning boards to GP consortia.

Simon Burns: The White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', sets out the Government's intention that the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for allocating national health service revenue resources to general practitioner (GP) consortiums on the basis of seeking to secure equivalent access to NHS services relative to the burden of disease and disability and managing an overall NHS commissioner revenue limit.
	The Government intend to use the forthcoming Health Bill to enact the statutory provisions required to achieve these objectives.

General Practitioners: Rural Areas

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether GP commissioners in rural areas will be able to form clusters with other GP commissioners across county boundaries.

Simon Burns: General practitioner (GP) consortia will be statutory public bodies with powers and responsibilities set out through primary and secondary legislation.
	The NHS Commissioning Board will have a duty to ensure comprehensive coverage of GP consortia across the country and will only authorise consortia once it is satisfied that they have the necessary arrangements and capacity to fulfil their statutory duties and accountabilities and that there is clarity about the geographical areas that they cover.
	GP consortia will need to have boundaries that interlock so that taken together they cover the entire country. We propose that they have the flexibility within the legislative framework, subject to having sufficient geographic focus, to form consortia in ways that they think will secure the best health care and health outcomes for their patients and locality.
	Consortia are likely to carry out a number of commissioning activities themselves. In other cases they may choose to act collectively, for instance by adopting a lead commissioner model to negotiate and monitor contracts with large hospital trusts or with urgent care providers.

General Practitioners: Training

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure all GPs have access to adequate  (a) information and  (b) training on care for patients with eating disorders.

Paul Burstow: General practitioners have access to a number of sources of information about the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders. These include the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on Eating Disorders, published in 2004 at:
	www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/10932/29218/29218.pdf
	NHS Choices
	www.nhs.uk
	which offers extensive information on eating disorders including diagnosis, treatment and local services;
	NHS Evidence which offers both search facilities
	www.evidence.nhs.uk
	and the Mental Health Specialist Collection
	www.library.nhs.uk/mentalhealth
	with the most up-to-date, quality-assured evidence about the conditions.
	With regard to training, the content of curriculum and quality and standard of training for medical professions is the responsibility of the appropriate professional regulatory body. The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), which is the competent authority for medical training in the United Kingdom. The GMC is an independent professional body.
	The content and standard of postgraduate medical training is also the responsibility of the GMC since the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board merged with the GMC on 1 April 2010. Curricula are developed by the medical royal colleges.
	Continuing professional development needs of doctors are determined by regulatory requirements and local national health service priorities, through appraisal processes and training needs analyses informed by local delivery plans and the needs of the service.
	However, whilst it is not practicable or desirable for the Government to prescribe the exact training that any individual doctor will receive we are aware of the need to ensure perceived areas of weakness in training curricula are addressed. For that reason, we are liaising with the Regulators and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges about how best to ensure curricula do meet requirements.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Crops

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent surveys the Food Standards Agency has commissioned or conducted on public views on genetically-modified crops; what the cost to the public purse was of each such survey; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency funded a series of questions on food technologies, including genetically modified foods, as part of the 2008 British Social Attitudes (BSA) Survey. The total cost of this work, of which genetic modification was only a part, was £89.590. Following from this survey, the agency commissioned qualitative research into public attitudes among groups of people who had expressed differing views on genetically modified food in the BSA Survey. The cost of this work was £73,654.50. The results of these projects are available from the Agency's website.
	www.food.gov.uk/science/socsci/ssres/crosscutss/foodtechbsa08
	Since 2001, the Agency has conducted quarterly "tracker" surveys that monitor changes in consumer attitudes towards a range of issues. These include questions about the level of public concern about a wide range of food issues, including genetic modification. However, genetic modification is only a minor component of these surveys, details of which are available at:
	www.food.gov.uk/science/socsci/surveys/publictrackingsurvey
	The last tracker survey, published in March 2010, has been placed in the Library.

Health Centres

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the future of existing polyclinics; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Our overarching principle is that commissioning decisions should, wherever possible, reflect the views of local clinicians and the local public. Under the proposals set out in our NHS White Paper: "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS", an NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning primary care services for registered patients, while general practitioner (GP) consortia will be responsible for commissioning urgent care.
	The responses to the consultation on "Commissioning for Patients", as part of the wider proposed changes in the White Paper, will enable us to proceed to set out the full details of how GP-led commissioning will work. We urge anyone who has any concerns to respond to the consultation by 11 October.

Health Services

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to publish the content of feedback forms submitted during consultation workshops on the NHS White Paper.

Simon Burns: A Government response to the feedback received on the White Paper and associated consultation documents will be published in due course, in accordance with the Government's Code of Practice on Consultation. This response will set out what decisions have been taken in light of the views that have been received through feedback forms and other channels. There is no requirement for respondents to use a specific feedback form and comments are being submitted in a variety of formats.

Health Services: Children

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the proposed changes to the healthcare commissioning process on those with the most complex health needs, with particular reference to children with  (a) autism and  (b) mental health problems.

Simon Burns: The Department published "Liberating the NHS: Commissioning for patients" on 22 July 2010 which set out the intended arrangements for general practitioner Commissioning and the NHS Commissioning Board. A copy has already been placed in the Library. We are engaging on these proposals and consulting on specific questions highlighted in the document, including child and adolescent mental health services.
	Primary care professionals coordinate all the services that patients receive, helping them to navigate the system and ensure that they get the best care. For this reason they are best placed to coordinate the commissioning of care for their patients while involving all other clinical professionals who are also part of any pathway to achieve more integrated delivery of care, higher quality, better patient experience and more efficient use of national health service resources.

Health Services: Voluntary Organisations

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department has made to record responses to the recent NHS White Paper from health charities.

Simon Burns: A Government response to the feedback received on the White Paper and associated consultation documents will be published in due course, in accordance with the Government's Code of Practice on Consultation. This response will set out what decisions have been taken in light of the responses that have been submitted to the consultation.

Health Visitors: Recruitment

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what date he expects to have completed the recruitment of the additional 4,200 Sure Start health visitors foreseen in the Coalition Agreement.

Anne Milton: holding answer 8 September 2010
	The Coalition Agreement pledges to increase the number of Sure Start health visitors by 4,200. We have begun an extensive programme of work to enable us to increase capacity as quickly as possible. This will be in parallel with work to develop outcome measures in line with government policy for improving and demonstrating improvements in health.

Lister Hospital

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) procedures and  (b) timetable he intends to adopt for his Department's decision on Stage 4 of the redevelopment of the Lister Hospital, Stevenage, relating to accident and emergency services; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: This is a local issue.
	Discussions are ongoing between NHS East of England, East and North Hertfordshire NHS trust, Hertfordshire primary care trust and local general practitioners in determining the next steps for stage four of the redevelopment of the Lister hospital.
	We expect all reconfiguration schemes to be informed by local decisions, driven by clinical professionals, and grounded in firm clinical evidence, recognising the views of the community as laid down in the guidance from Sir David Nicholson, the chief executive of the national health service on 29 July 2010.

Mental Health Services

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates Ministers in his Department have met  (a) mental health charities and  (b) other health charities to discuss the NHS White Paper.

Paul Burstow: Since the publication of the White Paper, Ministers have met with mental and other health charities on the following dates. Ministers have also been to various events and visits and spoken to charities about the White Paper on an informal basis.
	
		
			  Date of event (2010)  Event/meeting 
			 13 July Cancer stakeholder meeting. Various organisations present. 
			 14 July Macmillan Cancer meeting. 
			 21 July Voluntary Sector Sounding Board. Various organisations present. 
			 26 July National Stakeholder Forum. Various organisations present. 
			 26 July Cancer Research UK meeting 
			 27 July Mental Health Stakeholder, future vision coalition. Various organisations present. 
			 4 August Stroke Association 
			 9 September Neurological Alliance 
			 14 September Social Care Reference Group. Various organisations present. 
			 14 September National Advisory Group on Offender Health. Various organisations present.

New Cross Hospital Wolverhampton: Nurses

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses there were at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton  (a) in 1997 and  (b) on the latest date for which information is available.

Anne Milton: This information is only collected at NHS trust level. New Cross Hospital is the only hospital managed by The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust. Information on the number of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff at The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number 
			   As at 30 September 1997( 1)  As at 30 September 2009( 1)  As at 31 May 2010( 2) 
			  978 1,619 1,489 
			 (1) The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census. (2) Provisional Monthly NHS Hospital and Community Health Service Workforce Statistics.

NHS

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department has made to log local authority responses to the NHS White Paper.

Simon Burns: A Government response to the feedback received on the White Paper and associated consultation documents will be published in due course, in accordance with the Government's Code of Practice on Consultation. This response will set out what decisions have been taken in light of the responses that have been submitted to the consultation.

NHS 111

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training and qualifications NHS 111 staff will be required to have.

Simon Burns: NHS 111 is staffed by non-clinical call advisers, trained to the same standards as 999 operators, and nurse advisers. All staff attend an initial two week full-time course which includes mandatory written and practical assessments. Clinical staff also complete a four day clinical module, which comprises further written and practical assessment. After the initial training, call advisers and clinicians begin taking calls, under supervision. Approximately six weeks after the initial training, staff undertake a further one day course, during which their competence is assessed.

NHS Direct

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in  (a) England,  (b) West Midlands,  (c) Dudley borough and  (d) Dudley North constituency used the NHS Direct service in each year since 2000.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of c alls to NHS Direct 0845 46 47 
			   National 
			 2000 - 
			 2001 - 
			 2002 1,242,966 
			 2003 5,256,329 
			 2004 5,299,298 
			 2005 5,484,724 
			 2006 5,226,425 
		
	
	
		
			   2007  2008  2009 
			 National 4,738,762 5,021,768 4,997,216 
			 West Midlands strategic health authority (SHA) 356,994 419,689 441,588 
			 Dudley primary care trust (PCT) 24,621 25,410 26,612 
			  Source: NHS Direct 
		
	
	The data includes calls to NHS Directs 0845 46 47 line. It does not include other calls to services provided to national and local commissioners, including calls to the appointments line and locally commissioned services such as dental and out-of-hours services.
	No data is available for 2000 and 2001. Data for West Midlands SHA and Dudley PCT is available from 2007 onwards. Data is not collected at borough and constituency level.

NHS Direct

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation his Department held with  (a) medical professionals,  (b) trade unions and  (c) the public on the decision to replace the NHS Direct service with the 111 service.

Simon Burns: The Department conducted research with the public on the concept of 111 in November 2008, as well as separate research on the most appropriate number to use, and the cost of calling 111 in April 2009, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
	Ofcom also consulted on the use of 111 for the purpose of non-emergency health access in summer 2009, which received over 200 responses from a number of medical professionals and Royal Colleges, as well as members of the public. A copy of Ofcom's final response has been placed in the Library.
	The Department is piloting the 111 service in the North East now and further pilots are planned for later this year. The evaluation of 111 will include a survey looking at people's experience of using the service.
	Ministers and departmental officials regularly meet with stakeholders to discuss plans to implement 111.

NHS Direct

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of  (a) current NHS Direct staff are trained nurses and  (b) NHS staff will be trained nurses.

Simon Burns: Of NHS Direct's frontline staff, 48% are trained nurses.
	In the current 111 pilot site in County Durham and Darlington, 38% of staff are trained nurses, although the appropriate skill-mix of the 111 service will be determined, in due course, by the formal evaluation we have commissioned.

NHS Direct

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training and qualifications NHS Direct staff are required to have.

Simon Burns: Call handlers at NHS Direct are either non-clinical health advisers or nurse advisers. Health advisers undergo two weeks of classroom-based training and a further two weeks of taking calls under management supervision. Nurse advisers complete a four week classroom-based training period, followed by a four week period during which they take calls under clinical supervision. All nurse advisers must be Registered Nurses (Nursing and Midwifery Council) with post registration experience.

NHS: Lobbying

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is provided to NHS bodies on subscribing to lobbying organisations.

Simon Burns: Guidance on subscribing to lobbying organisations is not provided to national health service bodies.

NHS: Social Enterprises

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether private sector organisations will receive payment from NHS funds for providing mentoring assistance to social enterprise and public service mutuals undertaking national health service work.

Paul Burstow: There is no specific policy to support public sector organisations in this way. However organisations setting up social enterprises or existing social enterprises may apply for funding through the Social Enterprise Investment Fund and if eligible this may include funds for mentoring services.

NHS: Temporary Employment

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the National Health Service has spent on the employment of temporary contract staff in each of the last three financial years.

Simon Burns: The following table shows how much the national health service has spent on non-NHS staff (agency) in each of the last three financial years.
	
		
			   Non-NHS staff spend (£ million) 
			 2007-08 1,207 
			 2008-09 1,895 
			 2009-10 (1)- 
			 (1) Not currently available  Note: A figure for 2009-10 is not currently available, as the 2009-10 Financial Returns data are subject to internal review and potential resubmissions.  Source: Trust, Primary Care Trust and Strategic Health Authority Financial Returns and Monitor consolidated accounts for Foundation Trusts

North West London Hospitals NHS Trust

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will grant North West London Hospitals NHS Trust further funding for health and safety repairs; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Departmental officials are working closely with the London Strategic Health Authority (SHA) to identify the most appropriate financing solution for the health and safety repairs required at North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, and we expect to reach a conclusion by the end of September 2010. Departmental officials have been assured by the SHA that the short term financing can be managed locally, while this long term financing solution is put in place.

Obesity: Surgery

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many surgical procedures of each type to treat obesity in patients under the age of 18 years were carried out on the NHS in  (a) England and  (b) Nottinghamshire Primary Care Trust in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: There were no bariatric surgeries carried out in Nottingham County primary care trust of residence between 2004-05 and 2008-09 among those aged under 18.
	
		
			  Count of finished consultant episodes( 1)  with a primary diagnosis of obesity( 2)  who had 'bariatric surgery'( 3)  by type of surgery among those aged under 18 in England, 2004-05 to 2008-09 
			  Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			   Gastric bypass  Gastric band  Stomach stapling  Gastric bubble 
			 2008-09 8 3 2 0 
			 2007-08 2 4 0 0 
			 2006-07 2 0 0 0 
			 2005-06 2 0 0 0 
			 2004-05 0 0 0 1 
			  Notes: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years). In particular improvements in how 'bariatric surgery' is coded, with the introduction of new codes in various versions of the Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys (OPCS), growth due to better recording of procedures should not be misinterpreted as growth solely due to increases in activity.  These data should not be described as a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion. Also it is not possible to get a total 'bariatric surgery' figure from this data, as adding the types of 'bariatric surgery' together may include double counting, as a patient may have more than one type of 'bariatric surgery' within the same year. (1) Finished Consultant Episode (FCE) A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. (2) Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.  ICD-10 code used: E66-Obesity (3) Number of episodes with a (named) main or secondary procedure The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and four prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. Note that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For example, patients under going a 'cataract operation' would tend to have at least two procedures - removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one-counted in a single episode. See clinical codes sheet for OPCS codes used for 'bariatric surgery'. Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Strategic Health Authority (SHA)/PCT of residence The SHA or PCT containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another SHA/PCT for treatment. Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Activity included Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector Bariatric Surgery OPCS codes 
		
	
	
		
			 Gastric Bypass codes OPCS 4.2 G27.1-Total gastrectomy and excision of surrounding tissue G27.2-Total gastrectomy and anastomosis of oesophagus to duodenum G27.3-Total gastrectomy and interposition of jejunum G27.4-Total gastrectomy and anastomosis of oesophagus to transposed jejunum G27.5-Total gastrectomy and anastomosis of oesophagus to jejunum nec G27.8-Other specified total excision of stomach G27.9-Unspecified total excision of stomach G28.1-Partial gastrectomy and anastomosis of stomach to duodenum G28.2-Partial gastrectomy and anastomosis of stomach to transposed jejunum G28.3-Partial gastrectomy and anastomosis of stomach to jejunum nec G28.8-Other specified partial excision of stomach G28.9-Unspecified partial excision of stomach G31.1-Bypass of stomach by anastomosis of oesophagus to duodenum G31.2-Bypass of stomach by anastomosis of stomach to duodenum G31.3-Revision of anastomosis of stomach to duodenum G31.4-Conversion to anastomosis of stomach to duodenum G31.8-Other specified connection of stomach to duodenum G31.9-Unspecified connection of stomach to duodenum G31.0-Conversion from previous anastomosis of stomach to duodenum G32.1-Bypass of stomach by anastomosis of stomach to transposed jejunum G32.2-Revision of anastomosis of stomach to transposed jejunum G32.3-Conversion to anastomosis of stomach to transposed jejunum G32.8-Other specified connection of stomach to transposed jejunum G32.9-Unspecified connection of stomach to transposed jejunum G32.0-Conversion from previous anastomosis of stomach to transposed jejunum G33.1-Bypass of stomach by anastomosis of stomach to jejunum nec G33.2-Revision of anastomosis of stomach to jejunum nec G33.3-Conversion to anastomosis of stomach to jejunum nec G33.8-Other specified other connection of stomach to jejunum G33.9-Unspecified other connection of stomach to jejunum G33.0-Conversion from previous anastomosis of stomach to jejunum nec From April 2006 additional OPCS-4.3 codes were added: G28.4-Sleeve gastrectomy and duodenal switch G28.5-Sleeve gastrectomy NEC G31.5-Closure of connection of stomach to duodenum G31.6-Attention to connection of stomach to duodenum G32.4-Closure of connection of stomach to transposed jejunum G32.5-Attention to connection of stomach to transposed jejunum G33.5-Closure of connection of stomach to jejunum NEC G33.6-Attention to connection of stomach to jejunum G71.6-Duodenal switch Gastric Band Gastric band procedures may include the insertion, removal or adjustment of the gastric band. OPCS-4.2-There were no specific codes for gastric banding procedures in OPCS-4.2. OPCS-4.3 and OPCS-4.4 Insertion of a gastric band G30.3-Partitioning of stomach using band Removal of a gastric band G38.7-Removal of gastric band Adjustment of gastric band G30.8-Other specified plastic operations on stomach Y03.6-Adjustment to prosthesis in organ noc Additional OPCS-4.5 code: G30.5-Maintenance of gastric band Stomach stapling OPCS-4.2 codes for 'stomach stapling' are: G30.2-Partitioning of stomach Y26.3-Stapling of organ noc Both codes are necessary and need to be recorded in the order shown above, with Y26.3 directly following G30.2. OPCS-4.3, OPCS-4.4 and 4.5 has a dedicated code for 'stomach stapling', which did not previously exist in OPCS-4.2: G30.4-Partitioning of stomach using staples Gastric bubble (also known as gastric balloon) OPCS-4.2/4.3/4.4/4.5 G48.1-Insertion of gastric bubble G48.2-Attention to gastric bubble  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) commissioned,  (b) evaluated and  (c) undertaken on the operation of (a) prescription charges, (b) the Prescription Pricing Authority and (c) the NHS Choices website since May 2010.

Simon Burns: In the period 12 May to 10 September 2010, the Department has not commissioned research on the operation of prescription charges or the NHS Prescription Services. Professor Sir Ian Gilmore's review of a prescription charge exemption for people with long term conditions was published on 27 May 2010. The Department routinely evaluates research published by many sources.
	Capita Business Services is contracted to manage NHS Choices, and has in the same period, commissioned six surveys on behalf of NHS Choices.

Primary Care Trusts

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has provided to primary care trusts on the reorganisation of those trusts by 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: 'Transforming Community Services: The assurance and approvals process for PCT-provided community services', published in February 2010, sets out the assurance and approvals process and a set of national tests for strategic health authorities (SHAs) to use when considering primary care trust (PCT) proposals.
	The 'Revision to the Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2010/11', published in June 2010, reiterated the principle that separating PCT commissioning from the provision of services is a priority, and must be achieved by April 2011.
	We want people to be able to make informed decisions about their health care, and have a wide range of services available to meet their needs in the community from a range of providers, to drive up quality. The first step to achieve this is to separate out PCT commissioning from the provision of services.
	'Transforming Community Services: The assurance and approvals process for PCT-provided community services' and 'Revision to the Operating Framework for England 2010/11' have already been placed in the Library and are also available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/index.htm